Anime Addventure : Prejudice and Fear
by tutcat
Summary: Ranma has a nice change (other options start when he gets to Jade chap 5 and 6)(all stories up for adaption)
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma 1/2 or any other crossover characters. They are owned by their respective owners. Not out to make any money or fame on others work.

 **Prejudice and Fear**

 **by Deus_Ex_Machine**

Many have speculated on whether or not Genma is actually Ranma's father. The truth is that, in some universes he is, and in some he is not. In those that he is not, sometimes he even knows it, but in a vast majority he does not as he is too stupid to figure it out. In the timeline you are about to witness, he is not Ranma's father, and though he does not know it, he does have his suspicions. His suspicions were about to be unknowingly confirmed (but whether he takes the hint or not is up to anyone who continues this thread).

Nodoka Saotome, one of the last of the were-cheetah clan, had an affair, with another were shortly before she was married. That were was killed shortly after the affair do to the internal politics of that clan of were-creatures. That were was one of the most rare were-creatures known to exist, so rare that only a few speculate about its existence, and even fewer know that it is not a myth. That were creature was a _.

When Nodoka conceived its child, there were some odd effects. Ranma (who had been locked by magic into his human form for his protection) would be able to change into any combination of the two were-creatures (i.e. able to change into the 3 forms of a were-cheetah, the 3 forms of the other were, a combination of the hybrid forms, and a combination of the fully animal forms) after the lock was removed or broken, if that ever happened.

After the wedding disaster, Ranma was depressed because everyone thought of him as a prize to be won, but using an acting ability no one would have thought him capable of, he hid that depression.

One year after the bombed wedding, nothing had gotten better, in fact it had gotten worse. Akane would mallet him rather than look at him, Shampoo was getting desperate, and therefore so was Mousse. Ryoga was trying harder than ever to kill him for hurting sweet 'Akane-san.' Ukyou kept alternating between wanting to kill him and marry because he told her that he thought of her as a sister. The Kuno's had become worse than ever, and to top it all off, he had just received word that Saffron was up and about again, more powerful than before, and wanting revenge.

Due to all the stress he was going through, it was no wonder he exploded when Saffron arrived and attacked. Depressed as he was, he just wanted to die, but something kept him from just letting himself die. It probably had something to do with the fact that Saffron said something about killing off all the landings after he got his revenge.

As Ranma fought, he was nearing the end of his limit, wanting to end it all, but also wanting to save the innocents, so it was no wonder that all the strain finally broke the lock keeping him from accessing his heritage, and he shifted forms.

 **by Red Priest of the 17th Order**

Ranma weaved through and about all the wreckage. The Eastern half of Nerima had more or less been turned into a scene ripped right from a nightmare, or at least a disaster movie. Wreckage everywhere, the sound of ambulances, police sirens, and fire-trucks in the background, and there was the crimson fire. That god-awful fire everywhere, leaving the sky a complete black from all the smoke!

But still, no one noticed him, thank God. No one was willing to get close to all this fire just yet, no fireman have gotten to this area. And by sneaking on through destroyed homes, and other areas, Ranma was able to make some good distance. He couldn't face them. Not now. Not like this.

"Not as a monster..."

Ranma stopped in the house. This was one home not on fire, but the whole top floor was gone, leaving the house as just four walls. He saw a mirror and took a good look at himself and what he had become. He didn't know what he was now, but one thing was certainly clear. He was definitely no longer human.

Black and gold fur all about, with mostly black fur all over his body; his backside was covered with golden fur, spotted with black. The only thing breaking the monotony of gold and black were two white stripes of fur over his eyes as eye-stripes.

He sighed. He was definitely a cat-like creature of some sort. Though he didn't know of any that were just black and gold furred. Nor of any that had a HUGE set of incisors like he did now.

Roaring, Ranma punched the mirror, smashing it, and causing his hand to bleed... And like he had seen earlier, simple cuts and bruises like this healed rapidly on him. "It was what had saved me..."

Ranma didn't know what to make of his current situation. Earlier he had been fighting Saffron tooth and nail, and Saffron wasn't falling for any of his tricks. Saffron was just flinging fireball, after fireball at him, and creating waves of fire that engulfed building... And people...

As thoughts of those that died went through his mind, Ranma finally retracted his fist from the mirror, and consequently the wall. All those people, innocents that just had the bad luck of living in Nerima, died because Saffron was after him, and didn't care about who was in the way. Even now the scent of burnt flesh was heavy in the air.

Ranma had tried to lead Saffron away, he really did. But Saffron wasn't one to just budge. He was content blasting at Ranma while the pig-tailed fighter just ran around like a chicken with its head cut off. "I was careless..." Ranma growled.

And then things got worse. There were television and camera crews that were attracted to the scene of destruction like flies to honey, reporting on his fight, the destruction, and death tolls. "And I'm sure they're still here too..." He sighed in frustration. At least it was safer for them to be here now.

Ranma left the building. It wouldn't be safe for him soon. The fire-fighters would work their way down to this area eventually, and then he would be discovered. "And I don't want them to know I live... Then I'll be the one hunted."

Moving out of the place, Ranma kicked down the front door and looked around. Yup. Same hell on earth. Good. It'll give him some cover so he can move around still.

And so, Ranma stuck to alleyways that he could get through, and taking short-cuts through evacuated houses when he had to. The thoughts of families that have lost their homes cuts deep into Ranma's conscience, making him feel like the biggest heel. He had not meant to get Saffron to literally destroy half the district. He was trying to take care of the angry god of Phoenix Mountain. "For all the good that that did..."

Ranma shook his head as he continued to weave about the ruined half of the city. He wasn't sure how it happened when it did. One moment, Ranma himself was burning, and then... This transformation. Ranma still wasn't sure what he was. For all he knew, he was some sort of cat-like monster... "And it was that thought that sent me over the edge... For a bit..."

When he had changed, Ranma knew it was over. He literally felt his mind 'snap'. He could feel as he slide into Neko-Ken, then animal instincts taking over. The only difference this time, was that his 'human' mind was still awake while the feral instincts had taken over. Like a wild-cat, he leapt at Saffron, shrugging off blow after blow of fire.

Ranma had to stop and compose himself. He felt like retching. He still had that horrible, irony taste in his mouth. He didn't know why, but he lunged at Saffron's throat, literally tearing out the Phoenix God's jugular with his powerful jaws. The blood that sprayed about was blazing with Phoenix fire. Ranma still wasn't sure how he survived that one. Probably had to do with him falling in the canal.

"But now what to do?" Ranma wondered. He obviously couldn't go back. He was sure the Japanese reporters would show him to be some sort of evil monster. "Not that I can blame them when I look like this..."

Ranma entertained the thought of finding his mother, but shrugged it off. There was no way she would accept him like this. "There's just no way I can go back to my old life. Period."

He didn't know where to go, or what to do, but Ranma knew one thing. He had to hide. But where could he go. "Hopefully, Nerima will be closed off to the public for awhile. I'll be able to hide in the ruins for at least a little while.

 **by Bolt Crank**

As Ranma stayed hidden in the former home to an unknown family. He did not know what to do next. He was too caught up in the fact that he was some sort of freaky beast to actually think of a course of action. He was so caught up in his problem, in fact, that he didn't notice the arrival of another.

"Not easy to decide what to do when you don't even know where you can go, right, Ranma?"

"So come to kill me, Old Ghoul?"

Surprisingly, Cologne did not even whack him with her stick this time. "Not at all. I witnessed your fight with Saffron. Well, most of it. I was rather busy helping people evacuate."

"What?"

"I had a feeling this would happen, so I got as many people out as I could. Far fewer people have died than you think, Ranma."

Ranma relaxed slightly. "That's a relief. Wait a minute. Did you just call me by name? What happened to son-in-law?"

"All things considered I don't think it's a good idea for the son-in-law to return to Nerima. However, I know of a place you can go where you will not be judged for what you are."

THAT caught Ranma's attention. "Where?"

Cologne produced a scroll. "Speak the words on this scroll and you will be taken to a world known as Jade. In Jade, you will not be judged for being what you are."

Ranma snatched up the scroll and opened it. Reading over it, he paused before beginning, "Cologne, could you-"

"Do not worry. I shall talk to your mother. She will be the only one besides me the two of us that know."

"Thank you." And with that, he spoke the words and vanished.

 **by Red Priest of the 17th Order**

Ranma wasn't sure what to make of the sensation. It hurt a little, like his body was being broken down, and reconfigured. He had a stray thought that maybe Cologne was purposely trying to kill him. Wouldn't surprise him if she were, he was too much of a danger to anyone now.

And then it happened. He felt himself start to 'appear'. The area around him took form, and he could see his surroundings. A highly forested area that was overrun with vegetation. The land was so cluttered with trees, and the ground was completely covered in healty green grass and flowers. "Is this Jade?" Ranma asked no one in particular.

Concentrating, Ranma could hear the sounds of nature all around him. The sound of birds were hanging in the air, and there were smells, sights, and other incredible feelings from such enhanced/heightened senses that Ranma had to sit down, feeling slightly overwhelmed from trying to take in everything at once. "It's incredible..."

After a few moments of just sitting down on the ground with his back to a tree, Ranma shook his head a bit and tried to stand. Back on his feet, Ranma realized that he was going to have trouble. He was going to have to retrain himself. He wasn't used to having such acute senses, and he was pretty damn sure that with his new body, his fighting skills would be 'off' for some time to come.

"Well, better find out where I am exactly." Ranma muttered out, to no one in particular. Blinking his eyes at that statement, he shrugged. "Wait. Why should I care? I'm in no hurry to go anywhere right now."

And he meant it. Ranma had a feeling he was in Jade, but, so what? He had no clue where he should go, or what there was to accomplish here. "Hopefully, people won't notice me..." Ranma thought.

Looking around, Ranma decided to pull a 'Ryoga'. Choosing a random direction, Ranma just began walking.

However, as he walked, Ranma did admire the scenery. He wasn't used to such an abundant amount of nature. Even back home, when he was growing up on the road with his father, the woods they had always stopped in were nothing like this. The forest was very healthy, vibrant, and filled with life of all sorts. "A small paradise..."

Ranma stopped at that thought. Paradise. What he had seen of the forest was beautiful. but was this place really a paradise, though? He had not seen anyone else, and that set him on edge. "I'll save judgement until after I meet someone..."

And so, Ranma continued walking, his tail swaying back and forth behind him.

 **by Matdeception**

Sheila pouted, looking miserable in her pink frilly dress. She hated this, and oh so hoped those ruthless bandits they had been assigned to take down would hurry up and get on with it.

Looking over to her 'Father', Sheila growled out in annoyance. This was just too deeming.

"Father, why do I have to be the... 'child'.."

Gar, in reality Sheila's brother but currently playing the part of her 'Father', answered, "Because you're the only one out of us that looks so..." when Sheila glared at him, a subtle threat that if he said the word 'child' he was going to get a KAPOWIE were the sun don't shine, "... cute..."

Sheila lessoned on her glare some. At least it wasn't a total loss, even if she was reduced to playing the part of a 'child'. Looking over to her 'Mother' she repressed the insane desire to collapse in a fit of giggles. "Mother dear, you look so beautiful in that dress. You should wear those high heels more often!"

'Mother' took one look at Sheila, and smacked her upside the head. "Don't talk to me like that, young lady! Why, I might have to send you to bed without dinner if you keep this up missy!"

Sheila suppressed an overwhelming desire to kill her 'Mother', and swore inwardly that once this mission was over 'Mother' was going to get the biggest meanest Kapowie she had ever given 'her'.

Sheila's 'Mother' grumbled to herself as the trio walked along, shadowed silently by Onoli and Thorpan. Looking over at 'her husband', 'Mother' forced 'herself' to ask in the girliest voice 'she' could make, "Gar, dear, tell me why I'm the wife again?"

Gar rolled his eyes before slapping his 'wife' on the rump. He wouldn't tell anyone, but this mission had him cracking him up inside. "Because my delectable jelly bean, you're the only one who can grow their hair out like a woman." the he grinned insanely, "And you have the best 'assets' out of all of us."

If you couldn't guess the identity of the 'Wife' by now, let me tell you.

Tigra growled and glared balefully at 'her husband'. There was going to be hell to pay for this shit.

Sheila and Tigra kept quiet from that point out, brooding on how to better inflict pain on these bandits once they showed themselves. No one makes them dress up like a child/woman and expects to get away with it unharmed.

Gar had to force himself not to collapse in a fit of giggles. True this was a serious mission, but seeing Tigra in a dress was beyond anything he had come to expect from his best friend, eer... 'wife'

It was a whole thirty minutes later of their endless march through the wilds until the bandits showed up. Sheila and Tigra's joy at being able to 'vent' their frustrations were cut short, however, when a huge fireball ripped through the air singing and knocking the three Police officers to the ground.

Gar groaned, struggling to his feet as the fire danced about the area. He didn't need to be a precognant to realize they were in serious trouble. Who would have guessed this bandit group would have a mage?

"I don't see them Moe."

"Shhh Larry. I gots mah sources. There's gonna be a trap set for wittle old us, some edge guard fools actin all high and mighty disguise as simple travelers."

"Dude, this is the Edge Guard were talking about here. Not some common city folk with no fightin mindsets. Why don't we grab our loot and move huntin grounds? It'll be betta than stayin here and fightin these guys."

"Dude, we aren't runnin. Think about it man, we've gotten a name for ourselves, else they wouldn't be sendin out these top dogs to deal wit our little rabble. Think of the cool points we'll get if we bring em down! Dude, we aren't missin this chance!"

Larry gazed with half lidded eyes at his compatriot, "And how do ya expect our ragtag bunch to beat these guys? Most of em don't really know how ta use a weapon right, don't see how yah expect them to beat those veterans."

Moe grinned smugly, "Bro, neva fear. Guess who showed up last night? Heheh. Can ya guess? huh? Huh? Huh?!"

Larry looked thoughtful for a moment, his mind focused on the question. "Hmmmm..." a few more moments passed, "Hmmmm..." yet another few more moments passed, "Hmmmmm..."

Moe smacked Larry on the back of the head, finally becoming to impatient with the moron, "Dumb ass. Curly dude!"

Larry blinked, not recognizing the name. "Eh? My horse?"

Moe ignored Larry, "Our long lost balding brother Curly! Remember when momma tried to drown him for being 'Ugly as hell'? Well, seems Curly was found by a traveling mage who took the idiot and taught him some of that magic crap. He'll be what we need to kick those Edge Guard members asses."

Larry had long since tuned Moe out, instead opting to play with a yoyo as his brother continued his inane lecture.

Moe growled, noticing Larry not paying attention to him.

Insert a lot of slapping, eye poking, head thumping, and punching fun here.

Curly frowned, coming upon his two long lost brothers in the middle of a... bonding ritual... yeah, why else would they be kicking the shit out of each other.

Having long since positioned the troops into the best place to lay in wait for the ambush, he had come up here to join his brothers to better direct the ragtag band of bandits below. It was here he realized his brothers were too stupid to be allowed command of this situation, so instead of stopping their fight he turned around and let them be.

Finding a perch to better watch the path, Curly laid in wait for the fools.

It was 10 minutes later he spotted them.

Focusing on the Ethereal Stream, Curly grinned happily as he was once again immersed in with awesome power it had to offer. Taking the power it freely gave him, he focused his mind's eye in preparation for his attack.

"Lets try and end this in one fell swoop... heh... Fireball."

And the battle to decide whether or not the Edge Guard would live the day had begun.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

Ranma jumped to his feet, where he had been drinking from a stream. The sound of an explosion nearby had brought his senses to bear - throwing them in overdrive.

Being what he was, a Lycanthrope cross type between Cheetah and Sabertooth Tiger so unused to his new form and its inherent abilities, he was momentarily stunned by the onslaught of sensations he was receiving. Since he wasn't the target of whatever that explosion was, compiled with that fact he was relatively safe and didn't have to worry about being hunted down - yet - on this new and strange world, he could actually take the time to notice such things rather than acting totally by instinct.

The explosion wasn't exactly close, but it sure as hell wasn't that far away either. Less than a mile - and thanks to the black smoke marring the clear blue skies Ranma knew exactly where he had to go.

He only hoped it wasn't anything serious, or people that would try and kill him.

Sheila gasped, jumping back as a bandit slashed at her stomach, the red ichor of her life beginning to seep out slowly. She had been to slow to dodge, and the sad fact of the matter was she knew they were going to lose this battle.

Sheila summoned her will and focused it in ice. Her scimitar radiated a aura of blue ice as it complied with the will of its user. With a shout of "ICE KAPOWIE" a fist of ice flew from the very tip of her scimitar flying straight for a group of gathered bandits who looked about ready to zerg rush her.

"Flame."

The fist of ice melted immediately, a conflagration of raging fire appearing out of nowhere to do this grisly work. Sheila eeped, following the voice to its owner.

A human male from appearances, draped in robes the color of midnight black. She couldn't see much more beyond that, his head concealed behind the hood of his robe. She could, however, see the pearly white teeth of the Mage as he smiled a sinister smile, sending a shiver up her spine. She watched in morbid fascination as the mage raised his hand, a sphere of shimmering motes of angry lights coalescing in his hand with streamers of flames raging across its surface.

"Fireball."

Sheila gasped, planting her feet in the ground and bringing her scimitar to bear as she summoned every last bit of will to form a shield of ice to protect her from the blast.

Like a banshee screaming its sorrowful cry the ball of deadly energy left its master's hand, traveling thru its deadly arc. As the ball of energy gained ground Sheila could only watch in fear, her mind freezing up. It was as if she was looking death in the face, the sound of the fireball drowning out all others - Even the sound of her brother who was screaming hysterically for her to dodge.

Gar could do nothing to intercept the blast heading for his sister, being hard pressed just to keep himself alive. It was clear they had underestimated these bandits. Already he was tiring, having expending so much energy with little to no results against their mage.

Contact.

The ball of raging flame struck the shield of chilling ice, both battling to destroy the other. Their battle continued for an eternal moment, and much to Gar's relief it ended in a tie.

Sheila's ice shield may have absorbed most of the force that fireball held, but combined with her waning strength and blood loss from the various wounds she had yet to regenerate caused her to buckle at the very end - the Fireballs inertia blasted her back, and much to Sheila's dismay her grip on her scimitar was lost.

She flew back and crashed to the ground. She was a trooper though, and would refused to admit defeat, no matter the unbeatable odds they seemed to be up against.

Curly smiled smugly. His plan was working. Granted he hadn't been expecting those two additions, that .. what were their names? Thats right, Onoli and.. eh.. Thor something.. to show up. Luckily Moe and Larry had come to an understanding, both being the only actual members aside from himself with any actual skill. Those two were managing those two very well.

The woman were-tiger had taken the brunt of his initial fireball, and wasn't looking to be getting up soon. Curly chuckled inwardly - She wouldn't be getting up ever again if he had his say in the matter.

The male jagwere was proving to be the most difficult out of the lot, but even Curly could see he was tiring way to fast trying to defend himself from their numerous cronies and his own magic.

Now, the child was at his mercy. The girl had been a slight challenge, mainly because of her wicked magic sword - which Curly had every intention of stealing once this fight was over. A few blasts put her in her place, and now here he was. Watching the petite Jagwere push herself up off the ground, looking ready to die from exhaustion and all the damage she had sustained in this fight.

Taking slow, methodical steps Curly approached the girl. At about 7ish or so yards Curly stopped and watched the soon to be dead girl.

Sheila struggled, oh how hard she struggled to get to her feet. She was too damn tired! She hurt all over. Raising her eyes she nearly cried at seeing the mage in black standing there, that sinister smile back in full force. She watched once again in morbid fascination as another ball of menacing energy formed in his upraised hand.

"Any last words, tool of the oppressor?" Curly snarled. Not that he was really oppressed, he had just always wanted to say that.

Sheila snarled and tried to spit on him, but being 20 - 21 feet away it didn't quite make it. "Go to hell.." she managed to sound off defiantly, thought it was a little on the weak side.

Curly grinned. This was perfect! He'd got to say a snazzy little 'Last Words' statement, and she just gave him the perfect chance to end this with a dramatically cool evil statement! Oh happy day!

"You first." And then Curly launched his fireball.

The sounds of combat had reached his ears early into his run. It took him all of 3 milliseconds to realize that whatever was happening, it wasn't a training exercise or anything of the short. The scent of blood was strong in the air. Thankfully, Ranma noted with some relief, the tell tale scent of death had yet to be detected. Not that he knew what that smell was per say, but some instinct told him this was true.

Sooner than he would have expected he arrived at the scene of a gruesome melee raging across the wooded area.

Ranma's eyes narrowed, his eyes darting to and fro as his mind fell into focus. Twenty, thirty men attacking a band of four to five. Three men, and two women. The men looked hard pressed and had many many wounds. One of the woman laid motionless, and from his quick inspection it looked as if she had been knocked down during one of those strange explosions he had heard earlier.

The last woman, child actually from appearances, was on her hands and knees and looking extremely tired and wounded. A man that just screamed 'Dangerous' to his senses stood a little bit away from her, a ball of strange energy dancing in his grasp.

Ranma frowned greatly as he took all this in quickly. A group of men, a woman, and a CHILD getting attacked? That was something he wouldn't stand for.

"You first." and then Curly threw the fireball.

Ranma heard those words and was already in motion. As he neared the child he realized grimly he wouldn't be able to save her and somehow get himself out of the way before whatever attack that guy had thrown actually hit. Taking a moment to think on this, he decided to summon his Aura.

Sheila closed her eyes as the ball of flame left the Mage's hand. She was too tired to move, and knew deep down there would be no escape from this attack. It was rather sad, now that she took the time to consider it. She had lived her life, never knowing many of the joys it had to offer. She had always assumed she'd have the time, but now... did she have any regrets?

Sheila flinched, the screeching sound of the fireball all she could hear. She waited for the flames to hit, to spread and engulf her form and end her life. Curious... why was she only feeling intense cold?

Ranma had made it just in time, his aura spread out to the maximum as his mind and very being was encased in ice. The blast of strange energy connected with his Aura, an immediate power struggle between his cold iron will and whatever source of energy this attack derived its power from.

Curly frowned, spotting the strange looking were-creature intercept his fireball attack while glowing brighter than the annual armsmaster celebrations. Needless to say he wasn't.. pleased... by his appearance, nor was he exactly calm about it either. He was pumping out so much energy Curly could whoever this guy was, he just had to be dead. No one could focus THAT much energy without burning themselves out... or.. unless they were of the highest order of Mages - Either possibility left a bad taste in Curly's mouth.

Ranma grinned, the energy from that strange attack dissipating. He was surprised he hadn't actually needed to put that much effort into forming a protective shield. Which was strange in and of itself. He estimated that blast had been at least equivalent to the power of one of Saffrons fire blasts.

Ranma shook his head at those thoughts, shelving them away for later. Now was not the time to ponder such stupid things! There was a child in danger. Focusing his mind, Ranma cupped his hands and summoned his Ki. He was pleasantly surprised when his Moko Takabisha formed extremely easy, considering it generally took a helluva lot more effort than this did.

Little did he know, now that his powers were awakened he was inadvertently accessing the hereditary energy and strength granted to his kind. Add in the fact he was a mixture of the fastest and strongest of were-creatures, this made for some serious power.

Curly gasps, unconsciously taking a step back as the ball of unknown energy formed in the unknowns hand. Despite the fact that ball of energy screamed 'HELL COME HITHER' in terms of power, it was the fact he got a good look at WHAT he was facing. Never before had he seen such a creature.

"Wwhat THE HELL ARE YOU!" Curly screamed.

Ranma grinned, unknowing how that infuriating grin was causing great feat in the mage before him. All those sharp teeth glinting in the pale luminance of his aura made for a VERY intimidating sight.

"You're nightmare." Ranma growled.

The bandits morale were all general high. While Moe and Larry were decent leaders, this new guy Curly raised the bar up a few notches. Why, they felt like they could take on the world at the rate they were going. Hell, these Edge Guard members were suppose to be some of the most fearsome fighters in the world - Barring of course the various weapon masters, Archmages, and of course the Armsmaster herself.

Thus it came as quite a surprise when Curly, the mage who practically assured them their victory, came running past them all gibbering in absolute terror. His clothes were burnt off, as was his remaining hair. Small cuts outlined his entire body.

Gar was very thankful for the break in fighting. He had been close to collapse, and feared if he had fallen his death would be immediate. When that mage ran by crying and screaming for them to retreat, he wondered why on Jade he would do such a thing. Sheila, as far as he knew, was down and unconscious - as was Tirga. That left three versus thirty or so, and that wasn't good odds at all. He knew there weren't any reinforcements coming, none were close enough to get here in the amount of time that had passed since the beginning of this fight.

"Hey Bob.."

"Yeah Joe?"

"What the... HOLY MOTHER OF FUCKING GOD! NINE HELLS WHAT IS THAT!"

Gar whipped his head in the direction that nameless cronie had screamed at, and fell to his knees at the sight before him.

Ranma wasted no time. While the bandits were stunned at his appearance, he lept into the fray, savagely beating them down as quickly as he could.

"IT'S A DEMON!"

"MY BALLS! HE STEP ON MY BALLS!"

"HELP HELP! SOMEONE PULL THIS STAFF OUT OF MY ASS!"

Gar looked very very green.

Watching the last of the bandits run off, at least the ones still able to stand, Ranma finally let his battle aura seep back into his body. While the fight had been pretty one sided - since he showed up anyway - he was quite tired. He had noticed halfway through the battle he had been burning through his energy reserves faster than Akane blowing through her 'anger restraints'. It was a good thing she had been getting much much better lately, but still...

Shaking his head out of his memories, he reminded himself he had left their world. At the moment he had no way of going back, and at the moment he didn't think going back was really a good idea.

Turning back to the people he had saved, he offered a friendly smile and waved jovially - which made him look intimidating considering the teeth and all.

"My names Ranma Saotome... sorry about this."

 **by Matdeception**

".. Ranma Saotome, sorry about this." it finished speaking.

Gar stared at the creature, at the thing for a moment as he struggled to stand. Unbidden came memories of his childhood, of a monster that would prowl the world seeking children and weak willed soul's to feed upon.

The Were-smilodon, or Sabertooth weretiger. A creature of fierce cunning and insidious life, whose sole purpose was to prey upon the others of its world, to cleave at their very souls as he himself feasted upon their still warm innards. Gar remembered a brief explanation on the creatures taste, that he preferred the fresh souls of children to feed its dark ravaging hunger.

"G..Gar.." Sheila, lying face down in a small pool of her own blood muttered weakly as consciousness restored itself, her slim hands digging into the hard earth as she tried to get enough purchase and strength to stand up on her own.

Gar shuddered, a overwhelming feeling of fear coming over him as he noticed His attention divert from himself, to his sister. He moved towards her.

Gar, realizing that if he did nothing his sister would be good as dead, finished pushing himself to his feet while snarling out heatedly, "Get away from her, you monster!"

The creature seemed to flinch at his words, hesitating for a moment before coming to a stop and returning his gaze back to Gar.

"Look.." it began to speak, but Gar refused to listen to it's voice anymore. It was a creature from every child's nightmare, it had to be forced away else he claim his weakened sister, and who knows what else.

Gar launched towards his foe, finding new strength born by desperation at facing something from his childhood nightmares. True, there were differences, but at the moment he wasn't about to risk his sister, or the other members of the Edge guard against something that could very well rip their souls out and torment them for eternity. No thank you. "DIE YOU BASTARD!"

The creature seemed confused, and surprised by Gar's sudden attack. Thus he was unable to defend himself from the vicious kick to the chest he received. He staggered back from the blow, quickly coming to grasp the situation as he dodged, and blocked the slow choppy incoming attacks, "Hey! I don't want to hurt you!" the creature shouted, but Gar refused to give it a chance.

Ranma grumbled as he fled the family he had just saved. "Land of tolerance my ass." he whispered as he moved deeper and deeper into the forest, the shouts of that strange catman fading as he put distance between the two.

He realized after about a minute of trying to talk the guy down that he wasn't about to stop, not until he either left or got his ass handed to him. Not that he could blame him, Ranma guessed. It's not everyday someone got attacked and nearly lost his wife and child, but still... he thought he should have at least been more grateful for the help he had received.

Putting that bad experienced behind him, he continued moving deeper into the forest.

 **by Sect**

"Pff. Some paradise THIS is," Ranma muttered as he sat on a large stone in the middle of an expansive forest. He had figured that this was a large enough distance away from the gang that he had just wailed upon and the angry father.

He sighed as the the large, black and gold furred martial artist looked up, staring at the green and brown canopy that blanketed his resting spot. "Not even a day here, and already people are attackin' me." His expression brightened considerably. "Well, at least I ain't afraid of cats no more," he said with a slightly upbeat tone, glad that at least one major roadblock in his life was gone.

He then frowned again. "But how? And at what cost?" he asked himself, remembering how he had descended into the dreaded Neko-ken, and still he could taste the burning acidic taste of the once Pheonix King. "I would've asked the old-" the words halted out of his mouth. "... Cologne... but it didn't really come to me, then. Does she know...?"

The were-smilodon growled as he leaned backwards, glad that the rock he decided to rest on was a large one. Ranma closed his eyes, allowing a solid white strip to stretch across his black/gold fur. "What am I? I mean, that guy had every right to be afraid of me, but he's a cat too! He should have at least seen another guy like me," he muttered. A moment later, his eyes shot open. "Maybe It was because I tossed around those guys that he and the two others were having hell with... I intimidated him too much, and he got scared." A thoughtful look passed across his face. "Next time, I'll hold back. That way, they won't get caught off guard." He thought about that for a few moments, then nodded.

He looked back to the canopy, where the sun's golden rays shined through. He sighed as he closed his eyes. "Any way I look at it, I have another changin' curse," he muttered as he basked in the partially covered sun; he rathered liked the feel of the heat on his fur. "I wonder if I still have that Jusenkyo curse..." he mumbled idly.

 **by Matdeception**

He spared a glance towards the bodies of the fallen and unconscious, the cold rage swelling within his heart only growing more and more with each and every attack he sustained.

A man, one of his attackers he noted bitterly, was making a vain attempt to crawl away from the rest of his fallen attacks. He honestly didn't know which was more pathetic, the fact this scum thought he could beat him, or now that he had handed their asses too them they tried to get away as if nothing had ever happened.

"And where do you think you're going, asshole!" Ranma growled out through fanged teeth, one mighty claw grasping the man's shirt and lifting him roughly into the air.

"Ppplease! Don't kill me! I have a family!" the sorry excuse for a man cried out against the paw that held him a foot off the ground as he tried feebly to force the hand open, or at least to gain some purchase so as not to choke in his grip.

"Pfeh." Ranma snorted in disdain, shaking the man like a rag doll until he stopped crying like a ten-year-old girl. "Boy.." he spat, much venom in his snarl, "We all got's family, and if you don't want me deprivin yer family of their father, yer gonna answer my questions. Got it?" receiving no immediate reply, he shook the man roughly again before snarling loud enough to cause a slight ringing in the unfortunate man's ear, "GOT IT?!"

The man nodded feebly, the scent of urine abruptly made itself known, almost overpowering in its stench on his sensitive senses. "GG Got it!

The six months since Ranma's arrival in this land had not been kind, not one bit. He should have realized something like this would happen, but the idiot child he had been held on to the slim hope that some place, some where in this strange fucked up world someone like him could be accepted. Hope died a slow, and painful death.

Oh, to be sure it hadn't started off as bad as it was now. At first he had merely traveled, despite that upset with the family and bandits, he had been in relative high hopes all things considered. The world he had found himself in echo within his heart, a piece of his childhood that seemed would never be touched by the dirty taint of invention and greed.

Growing up in the forests of Japan and China, Ranma had a healthy respect for nature, and while he didn't outright loathe technology, he had always felt on some level that the entire concept was wrong. Still, even if he wanted to do something about the diminishing beauty of Nature on Earth, he doubted he would have made any difference. People were stubborn creatures, perhaps this was their greatest common interest, and no one would ever give up the easy life to rough it like he had to do growing up as a child. Ah well, the point was moot in any case.

The first annoyance he faced was, of course, his freakin curse. Yes, his Jusenkyo curse still existed, damn stubborn gender bending magic. Well, Ranma didn't see it as all bad. Whatever the hell changed him into what he was now had given him some reprieve from the curse. No more was he reliant on cold/hot water to initiate the change (though if he wasn't careful with his self control they would still affect him), after months of travel he had discovered the change was based completely on his will power. If he willed himself a woman, he became a woman, and vice versa.

And the mother fucking gods damn well knew he was a man, especially after all the shit he had gone through.

Still, he had to be conscious to control the change, many times he had awoken during the night after a brief shower or two to find that yes, even as a female, he was a cat person thru and thru. This one gift from the gods, however, seemed to come at a high price.

People, farmers, adventurers, bounty hunters, and even monsters regarded him with fear and no small dose of malice. The fact Dragons would quake in their boots at the mere sight of him had stroked his ego a bit, but it pissed him off nonetheless.

Three months after his arrival to this land, Ranma came upon his first 'Death Squad'.

A Death Squad, Ranma later discovered after kicking the crap out of some female ninja wannabe, was a government (or whatever passed as the bosses in this place) sanctioned brute squad with one purpose in mind, kill their target. Well gee, who do you think that turned out to be?

Fun fun fun.

Still, he would be the first to admit the leaps and bounds his fighting skills had gone through because of the constant life or death struggles. Often times Ranma would look back on his time in Nerima with fondness, realizing he had been such a wimp when it came to the real fights. Heh, he'd take life in Nerima over this hellhole any day, why, he'd even eat Akane's cooking! Why, he might even let Happosai grope his... no.. never mind, he'd rather die.

So here he was, some freak of nature that everyone and their gigantic mothers wanted to kill, currently wondering what the hell he had done to piss off the gods, and praying all this shit would end. He was getting really ticked off.

Shaking his head to dispel those sudden thoughts, Ranma turned his attention solely on the man whimpering on his arm, "What's yer name?"

"Ke-Keith!" the man answered pathetically.

"Well, Keith. I'm gonna give yah one chance to walk away from this alive." he grunted, dropping the man to the ground, "How much is tha bounty on my head now? Still 10,000 gold pieces?" he asked while kicking backwards, the form of one of the Death Squad's trolls rocketing across the clearing to smash THROUGH a boulder to crash haphazardly to the ground, unmoving.

Keith shook his head, any pretense of lying to the beast driven out of his mind at the sight of THAT feat of strength and brutality, "20,000."

Ranma nodded, his ego once again swelling at the almost ludicrous amount of cash being offered for little ole him. "Any weapon masters involved yet?" he was highly curious about these proclaimed 'Weapon Masters', maybe if he killed enough of them people would leave him the hell alone? Hmm, something to think about.

Keith shook his head, mumbling, "Don't know, no clue. Haven't heard nothin about it."

Ranma nodded again, "Why do you guys hunt me anyway, I've seen plenty of cats wanderin around, be just as easy to kill them y'know. Brings up another question too, how come none of them other cat's ever join a death squad?" He had been meaning to kick their ass, then question them about being a were. Hell, never know, maybe he could figure out a way to change or somethin.

Keith, for the first time in along time, was able to cast a blank unbelieving look at the child killin soul eating monster he and his doom Squad had tracked for nearly a week, "Eh... where's don't want to hunt you, because it's said you eat their souls. And.. you're the Were-Smilodon, the child devourer."

Ranma blinked. Eat their souls? Consume children? "BWA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" he almost got floored by that answer, "You *snort* think I eat *GUAHAH* souls?" he clutched his sides, finding it difficult to breath, "You *buahaha* think I, hold on a sec *deep breath, GUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH* devour children?"

Keith was rather put off by the laughing monster of the abyss, but he was still too terrified to actually let him know that.

Ranma chortled, his laughter dying down into something more manageable. Wiping a tear from his eye, he asked "Wha.. What's a *snicker* Were-smilodon?"

"Saber-Tooth Weretiger." Keith answered calmly.

"Eh? Is that what I am? What's the big deal?" He asked, curious.

"Eer.." how the hell does one explain to a monster that he is perhaps the most feared creature ever to walk Jade? "Ahh.. I dunno.. I guess.. eh.. you're not suppose to exist?" he supplied lamely.

Ranma hmmed for a second, then shrugged. "One last question. Eva since you goons started comin after me, I've been noticing a steady stream of silver weapons. I'm kinda curious what that's all about. I mean, the weapons are pretty weak, and prolly cost a ton to maintain." he eyed the little man for a moment, before adding, "And I know you got enough steel around here ta build a mecha-godzilla, so what gives?"

Now, Keith wasn't an idiot. Considering the general education one finds when they live on Jade, he'd probably be considered an Einstein among the populace. While he wondered what the hell a mecha-godzilla was, he knew beyond a doubt they were in some serious fucking trouble. "Wait a minute! Are you saying you can handle silver, no problems at all?" he looked frantic, desperately hoping it WASN'T so.

Scratching his head, Ranma shrugged before reaching down to pick up one of the discarded Silver broadswords, "That answer yer question?"

Keith, being questioned by a creature from everyone's nightmare, being presented with irrefutable proof that their target was IMMUNE to the soul scarring effects of SILVER, did the only thing he could think of in this particular situation.

He fainted.

Ranma blinked, idly scratching a troublesome spot behind his head while using the Silver sword to chip out some rotten food that had gotten stuck between his teeth, shrugged to himself as he looted the downed merc's, taking their food, water, money (not that he ever got to spend any of it, but he figured one day he might actually need the worthless stuff) and the Troll's clothing (remarkably clean, and on most occasions perfect for his oversized frame.) before taking off for his home.

Well, the cave he called home. He was just lucky none of these idiots had found him while he was resting there; it was always so hard to get a little privacy now days.

 **by Sect**

Onoli frowned as he looked at the reports in his hands, then glanced down at the many many more reports on the oaken table that served as his desk. "The situation... does not look good," the werelion said at last.

"You're telling me," Thropan groaned, leaning his chair back so that his back rested on the wall of the Edge Guard's headquarters. "Eighty-seven confrontations between the were-smilodon," he barely managed to choke out the word, "and the 'death squads', about ten this month..."

"And all squads got the living shit beaten out of them," Tigra finished as he entered, standing next to the table, holding a bundle of papers. "By the way, this one makes eleven squads this month," he mentioned, handing his leader the papers that constituted of a report, medical bills, and official letters announcing several of the member's' "retirement".

Onoli shook his head slowly, clearly awed by contents of the report. "Fourteen fighters, all armed with silver weapons and the like, beaten within twenty minutes of contact..." Onoli looked up at his two subordinates/friends. "And not a person was killed, nor the target was seriously hurt."

Thropan whistled a low, awed tone. "Man, the guy has to be as strong as a Weapon Master," he said. Both he and Tigra shared a look, and both hoped that they did not have to go against the were-smilodon anytime soon.

A sudden choking noise made both cats turn to Onoli, who was looking at the report with a rapidly paling face, amazing for a creature covered in fur. "What? What's wrong?" the weretiger asked concernedly.

His hand slightly trembling, the werelion traced a line on the report with a shaking forefinger. "'After the battle,'" he recited, "'Keith was interrogated by the were-smilodon, who was obviously interested in the increasing rate of his bounty and the involvement of the Weapon Masters. He also asked about our weapons made of silver, and upon further inquiring by Keith, proved that the weapons were ineffective by lifting a silver sword in his bare hand by the blade.'"

Onoli finished the line and looked up to see the weretiger and the werepanther staring at him with wide, disbelieving stares. Several moments passed in silence, allowing the awful truth to soak in and settle.

Finally, after a full five minutes of silence, Tigra broke it.

The moon of Jade reflected light that casted a shadow under the feet of the dark-clothed figures that rushed quietly through the sparse foliage. The lead one stopped abruptly, causing the ones who followed to halt. "Psst! What is it?" one of the shadows asked.

The person in the lead removed the hood of its cowl to reveal an orange werecat, with black stripes crisscrossing the female's body. "I picked up a scent," she replied, her eyes searching the darkened landscape. "It's similar to that of the battle site that the smi, smili, smilodon," she stuttered, "was fought."

One of the hunters rolled his eyes. "Jeez, what's with you cats and this 'boogeyman' of yours?" he chuckled, prompted several others to laugh quietly but nervously as well. The tigress pierced the hunter with her eyes that glowed in the night.

"Quiet!" she hissed. "The were..." she gulped anxiously, "the were-smilodon is a fearsome creature! Devourer of werecat souls!" she hurriedly explained, her head jerking around as she tried to trace the scent; the search was made even more difficult with the fear running through her veins.

"Then why hasn't it killed anybody?" another hunter asked skeptically, absentmindedly flicking off water droplets off of her cloak. Earlier there had been a quick rainstorm.

"... Maybe it's a vegetarian boody-cat?"

All heads of the hunting party whipped around to stare incredulously at the elven mage, who suddenly looked down and shifted her feet.

"I got it," the werecat tracker announced suddenly, then bounded stealthily towards a rocky area. Quickly, the rest of the hunting party followed.

Around ten minutes later, the party of eight halted at a small opening that rested under a large tree. The cave entrance was framed by the tree's roots, and each member could see that something had crawled inside recently. One of the hunters peeked his head inside.

"Hey, I think I see something!" he said as he slid in easily; the entrance was about four feet wide, so it wasn't that hard. The others followed cautiously, the tigress even more so.

"Wow," the elf mage muttered. "It's pretty big in here." It was easy to see why she said that; the cave was one large, circular room, about thirty feet in diameter, with a ceiling of nine feet. In the back of the room, about three feet away from the back wall, a natural sunroof existed, shining moonlight onto a currently sleeping figure and a partially filled backpack.

However, the figure took all completely by surprise.

Firstly, it was most obviously a werecat female, as evidenced by her shirt, which clung to her fur like a second shirt. It tremendously assist in showing off her large assets. As three of the more reckless hunters approached, they could also tell three more things: she had incredible teeth, her fur was a deep red with black markings, with a white stripe across her closed eyes, and she looked very athletic, as her position of sleeping showed off her well developed muscles. And as one of the three bravely moved within a foot of the creature, he could see that she seemed to be rather smaller than the stories that they had heard proclaimed, and that she was rather good looking.

The man blinked. "Hey, this definitely ain't the guy we're looking for," he called back to his comrades. They looked back at him, all confused.

The tigress slowly walked forward, keeping her eyes on the were. "But... if there's a male, AND a female... does that mean...?" she asked to herself, looking even more worried.

"... That there might be more of them?" another of the hunters finished. With that, the tracker looked very very sick, and nearly collapsed.

The man rolled his eyes. "Well, when we drag her on over to Edge Guard, they can find out," he said, bringing out a pair of dwarven steel chains, intending to immobilize her...

And a synchronized sweatdrop occurred when the girl rolled out of the man's way, still asleep. THe man blinked, then reached for her again, only to stumble as she rolled the other way. A growl erupted from the man, and he lashed out with the cuffs, intending to get her. This time, he was pitched onto his face as the were-smilodon rolled again.

One of the hunters looked to his companion. "Come on, now. She's doing this in her SLEEP?" he asked rhetorically, receiving a shrug in response.

Another hunter walked over to the frustrated man. "Jeez, get a grip," she said. "Look, I'll hold onto her, and you cuff her." She looked at the panting man, who nodded as he regained his composure. "Now," she continued, positioning herself above the werecat, "All you need to do is working on timING?!" She squeaked as the girl rolled again, which made her stumble and collapse, flailing out her arms. She fell to the ground partially on the girl that they were trying to capture.

"Oh my," the mage muttered. "This IS embarrassing." Nods and remarks of agreement followed her statement.

The woman, who was revealed to be a human, growled and clenched her fists. Then she frowned as she realized that in one of her hands was a soft item, like a...

Her head slowly turned, hoping that she wasn't grabbing onto what she thought she was holding to...

*WHAM*

She worried no more about the situation, for the were-smilodon's fist impacted with her face, sending her sailing into a rather embarrassed hunter who hefted the steel chains, knocking them both into a wall.

The other six sweatdropped as they realized that blow was done on instinct rather than conscious effort, for the sabertooth weretigress was now beginning to wake up.

The first thing that Ranma noticed was that he was a she. The second was that her breast was a bit sore, kinda like when Kuno or Happosai groped her.

That got her up. "What the hell?" she asked to herself, looking about quickly. She realized that she was not alone; there was two people, male and female, sitting against a wall, one dazed and one unconscious, and six others standing in front of the cave entrance, by her sense of smell they were a female human, two male humans, an elven male, an elven female, and a female... cat?

She grinned as she realized that the final person was a werecreature. Finally, she would have some answers.

Unfortunately, the grin on the female were-smilodon's face spooked the weretigress, and she yelped as she drew a pair of short swords. Similar frightened, though to a lesser degree, her comrades followed suit.

 **by Matdeception**

Ranma realized quite quickly that she had found herself in a rather precarious position.

She was currently trapped within an enclosed space, with no other exits available to her aside from the single entrance currently being held by six of her would be assassins, and to make matters worse one of them was an obvious magic user, a class of villain (and since she viewed these goody goodies as the bad guys, the term villain fit in his point of view) he had learned to at least marginally respect since her arrival nearly seven months ago. This of course wasn't to mention the were-cat-stripey-thingamabob. She'd need to ask just what kind of creature she was after she kicked their ass, and who knew what other tricks she had up her sleeves.

And, to make matters worse, she was currently a girl, something she had been trying her hardest to keep hidden from all the nutjobs that always seemed to hunt her down.

"So... don't suppose we can talk this out peacefully, eh?" she asked, hopping to her feet but making no more sudden gestures.

"No." came the general consensus, not that she was expecting anything different.

*POW* *CRUNCH* *SLAM* "Mommy!" *SWISH* "Yer slower than a tomboy!" *SALM* *CRUNCH* *SQUEEZE* "Whoa!" ... "YOU PERVERT!" *POWPOW POW POW POW POW POW POW POW POW POW POW POW POW* "Help.. I can't feel my willy.." *SLAM* "Serves yah right, yah letch!" *BOOOOOOOM* "Shit." ...

"I don't like hittin girls ya know..." Ranma breathed out, looking quite singed and more than a little annoyed. At least she looked better than the rest of her attackers, but then again.. a fireball like spell going off in an enclosed area tends to be rather damaging, and not very discriminatory on just who it hits.

Sylvia, the elven mage giggled nervously as she found herself the only remaining conscious member of her group, and no less than three feet from what was quickly becoming the bane of any Death Squad's existence. "Eh.. heh... I sense a but in there.." She always hated when she was right.

Ranma smiled jovially, nodding all the same, "Yep, but since you were kind enough to fry my home and down yer own comrades, I think I'll just knock you out instead of beating you brutally to within an inch of your life. Cool?"

Sylvia blinked. Well, this soul-eating monster was being rather courteous with her, "Sure.. cool.."

"Great!" was the last thing she heard before darkness claimed her.

"Sylvia? Sylvia! Wake up!"

"Five more minutes mother, five more minutes.." she grumbled, burying her head in-between her two fluffy pillows. Ah, they were so warm and furry! She giggled suddenly, the fur of her pillows tickling her cheeks.

"Please.. stop that." a familiar voice pleaded.

Certain facts began to make themselves known to the relatively young elven sorceress. One, her memories of encountering a female version of the were-smilodon clearly pointed out that the odds of being in a bed, much less her own bed at home, was nil. To further construe the facts, she was pretty damn sure she lacked pillows that were 'furry'... or 'warm' ... or this soft... Experimentally, she reached up and took a firm hold of her pillows, squeezing them.

A sharp intake of breath, and an uncomfortable shiver clued her into the truth. She was not grasping pillows. She was not in her home, and she highly doubted her mother was anywhere near her at the moment. She gulped, "Please.. tell me these aren't what I've deduced them to be..."

Trisha, the were-tigress unlucky enough to be the first were-cat caught by the soul eating were-smilodon, shuddered again at the young elf's touch, "Nine hells, this is embarrassing."

Sylvia eye'd their prison, only paying Trish an iota of attention as she examined her surroundings.

They were still in the cave where she, and her ill-fated group had engaged the creature, and at first glance she could find neither hide nor hare of her group or of their tormentor. In fact, everything looked absolutely normal, except for a few scorch marks here and there.

Well, normal, except for their cage constructed almost entirely out of silver swords, daggers, staffs, and other various implements of disaster all held together by some seemingly weak rope.

It was hardly an impenetrable prison, but it did hold some harrowing problems with it came to escaping. The roof itself consisted of numerous silver swords and daggers, all quite sharp looking and pointed down toward herself and her friend. Sylvia didn't understand the mechanics of it, but she had the distinct impression that if she tried to break through the bars, or some how upset the way their strange prison was held together, those implements of lycanthropic death would come screaming down on them.

"Sylvia.. please.." Trish began, her voice full of desperation, "Tell me you can get us out of this.."

"I can get us out of this." She lied. Unlike herself, Trisha firmly believed in the soul eating monster that had captured them, and despite the very freaky atmosphere, and abundance of silver, Trisha was scared their tormentor would return to make a quick snack out of their souls.

"Trisha, have you any clue as to our comrades fate?"

Trish shook her head quickly, "That beast has been coming and going, carrying them out two at a time. I don't know where she's taking them."

Sylvia opened her mouth to say something, but snapped it shut when Trisha began trembling with renewed fear. Glancing back, she blanched as their captor entered the cave.

"Oh, good. You're awake!" Ranma smiled jovially. She had thought long and hard about returning in male form, but shrugged that notion off. This group had obviously already realized he was a she, and didn't see the purpose in confusing them more than she already had. "Now I think it's time..." she grinned, leering at Trisha with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes, "We eat."

Trisha fainted.

"Alright, you crazy chicks." Ranma grumbled, "I'm gonna give you one chance to get out of this alive, all yah gotta do is answer some questions for me. Cool?"

Sylvia wanted to cry! Where the hell did this beast get a Magic Nullification Bracelet! Nine hells only Sanctuary was suppose to have those! It just wasn't fair! "I.. cool." she replied miserably, openly trying to get the bracer off. She knew though, no matter how hard she tried, it wouldn't be coming off. Well, not until she contacted Sanctuary.

Eyeing their tormentor's unconcerned look, she realized she probably knew that too.

Trisha nodded, putting on a brave front despite the abject horror coursing through her veins.

Ranma nodded, "Puttin aside yer attempt to kill me in my sleep..." he glared at Sylvia. It was quite obvious she wasn't talking about that first time in her sleep, "... I got no intention of killin, raping, maulin, torturin, disfigurin, or in some way harmin yer pretty little heads. Cool?" eyeing Trisha, he added, "And despite the bull shit you've heard, I don't eat souls none either."

"Now, I want yah, " he pointed at Trisha, "To tell me everythin yah know about bein a were-creature. Why I'm hated, and just whose ass I need to kick to get some peace and quiet around here."

Glaring at Sylvia once again, she continued, "And you..." she growled dangerously. Sylvia gulped, unable to stop her trembling, Ranma continued to glare, until a distinct sparkle shined in her eyes, and like a little child who had just found something shining and interesting with which to poke their eyes out, "Teach me some magic!"

Sylvia and Trisha sweat dropped as their evil, sadistic, and cruel.. okay.. not really all that cruel, she was actually turning out rather socially inclined considering. Still, they sweat dropped at the appearance of her child like innocence, "Weird..." ... "Verily."

 **by Sect**

Sylvia and Trish stared at their captor with disbelief in their eyes. After all, it wasn't every day that a monster out of werecat lore asked for training in magic as a child would ask for a ride on a pony, or a chainsaw, depending on what kind of child it was.

In fact, they were so surprised that they forgot to be afraid of the dark red-furred were-smilodon.

"Er..." Sylvia responded intelligently. Suddenly, she blinked, snapping herself out of her stupor. "Wait! Miss..." she stumbled to a halt, not sure how to refer to the were.

Their captor dropped the gleeful appearance. "Eh, call me Ran..." she stopped for a millisecond, "...Ko. Ranko is my name," she finished, hoping that they didn't catch the pause.

Fortunately for her, Sylvia didn't notice, and Trish was still stunned. "Miss Ranko," she started, wondering at the strange name, "what happened to our friends?" She noticed, with growing dread, that their captor had began to adopt a smile that she really did not feel comfortable with. Kinda like a mix of mirth with sadistic, along with a strong supply of cuteness, and a sprig of boyish humour, whatever the hell that was.

Trish stared stupidly at her elven partner before coming back to her fear riddled senses. She stared at the bane of all werecats, who began to adopt a quite feral grin. "Y-y-you didn't!" she cried in shock.

"What, eat them?" Ranko asked innocently, noting that the were-whatchamacallit was trembling visibly. Then she began laughing. "HAHAHA! Of course not! And they ain't dead, too," she added, to prevent anymore questions about their state of living. Then she grinned slyly. "Of course, they prolly wish they were," she remarked.

Sylvia started. "They... wish?" She jumped a bit when Ranko suddenly collapsed in giggles, tears coming out of her eyes. The magicless mage wondered what had happened that made her react like this. Then she prayed that whatever it was, it didn't happen to her.

The forest was filled with an uncomfortable silence.

The reason why the silence was uncomfortable instead of some other adjective is this: the silence would depend on the moods and situation of the inhabitants.

Usually, the normal inhabitants are stuff like trees, rocks, birds, squirrels, and the occasional predator. Since they exist in a stable ecosystem where the trees grow nuts and the like, the birds and others harvest the fruits of the trees, the predators would then masticate the birds, then they would choke on a small bone and die, decomposing and becoming the nutrients needed by the tree, it was rather relaxing. Mostly because all of the animals and whatever knew what their place was and had no real intention of changing it. Therefore, the silence was a sedate, or relaxing, silence it that case.

In the case of a logging camp, the lumberjacks would work hard chopping down trees and thus destroying the fragile ecosystem, then go out onto the town dressed in women's clothing like their dear papas, the silence of the logging camp after a long day's job would be a satisfied silence, though somewhat tinted with a silence of pain and agony of the trees and squirrels and predators. Of course, no one really pays attention to them, so it's a rather moot point.

In the case of a wasteland, where either a plague had wiped out the inhabitants, a nuclear warhead impacted causing radioactive fallout, or a certain purple dinosaur, that should all means be dead, decided to have a live concert, the silence would be desolate, and agonizing.

However, this particular silence was uncomfortable. Suitable, for the inhabitants of a certain tree were quite uncomfortable.

"... Any luck?" one of the hunters, human and male, asked his comrade, who was struggling beside him.

The male elf sighed in annoyance. "For the fortieth time, NO! This knot is tied too well," he replied, trying, unsuccessfully, to untie the rope that had all six of the hunters hanging ten feet in the air in one bundle.

One of the female humans sighed. "Ugh, this is embarrassing," she remarked, looking down at her feet.

The other human girl frowned. "It is, but there's no reason to GET EXCITED ABOUT IT!" she screamed in the guy's ear next to her.

"Ow! Sorry, but... well, you know!" he tried in vain to console her, but was interrupted by the last human.

"Well, it's the only way that you'll get to touch one of those, girl," he joked. He began trying to wiggle away as the said woman tried to bite him. "Hey, hey! Cut that out!" Of course, their antics began to get everyone riled up

"Would you just shut up?" the elf asked, still trying to get the knot untied.

All obeyed his request, and the uncomfortable silence rolled back in. Then it rolled back out when one of the women looked down at the ground.

"... Do you think that Sylvia and Trisha are still alive?" she asked.

The elf sighed. "Can't say for sure. The male were-smilodon hasn't killed anybody, yet, but this is the first encounter with a female. We also know that the male didn't like magic users much, so if they're in contact, then perhaps both of them are doomed..."

The uncomfortable silence waded back in, but didn't dive in because a new silence of mourning, along with a faint sniffling from one of the girls, also inhabited the area.

"I just wish that she didn't leave us in our skivvies," one of the girls finally remarked. Another human shrugged his shoulders as well as he could.

"Hey, it's better than being naked. Besides, she left our clothes at the base of the tree."

"Actually, I would mind being naked like this..."

A instantaneous cry of "PERVERT!" from the rest of the group, along with a chomping sound and a faint whimper of pain spiked through the forest, then was covered once again by an uncomfortable silence.

 **by Philip Weigel**

In a darkened room, there were two figures sitting at a table. One was a bit taller than the other one. Other than that, the taller one was male while the shorter one was female. One couldn't tell much about them other than that.

The male looked at the female. "I'm bored."

"So what? I am too. Don't you usually have something to do?"

"Not right now. Which is why it's so boring."

The female sighed. "I know the feeling. Anyway, why don't you try and take over Jade if you're bored?"

"Are you insane? You know as well as I that do-gooders will ALWAYS try and stop you."

"Hmm... True. Say... How about we break all the criminals on Jade out of prison?"

"That could work... Just that I don't want to deal with the Edge Guard, normal guards, ETC that usually guard the place."

The woman sweatdropped, how this was seen in a darkened room was unknown. "Um, I hate to burst your bubble, but you can handle most anything on your own, even more so with my help."

"True, but I'd rather not deal with it... So... How about we get a mercenary group to do our work for us?"

The female raised an eyebrow, if she had one that is. "So, let's get a mercenary group to break some criminals free from prison and cause general chaos?"

"Yep!"

The woman nodded. "I see..." She then got a devilish idea. "How about we get some 'outcasts' to help us out?"

"Outcasts?"

"You know, the people of Jade that normal people fear and hate."

"Ah, like that boogey man right?"

"Yes. The evil boogeyman Werecat."

"That makes some sense."

Suddenly the door of the room burst open and a nameless menon walked in. "Sorry master..."

 **by Matdeception**

"Sorry master.." groaned a short abomination of mismatched body parts and organs. The diminutive creature looked at its master, its long misshapen tongue hanging out it's mouth and dragging across the floor, leaving gouts of sticky stinky saliva across the otherwise clean floor.

Hanza shuddered, eyeing the creature with no small amount of disgust. Try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to look away from the pathetic creature. Most of Rook's army, if you can call it that, consisted of Undead Zombies, Ghasts, the occasional Apparition, and of course his infamous Ghost Knight legion. Creatures like the one in the room were left overs from one of the many necromancers who had sought to claim Rook's power for their own. While the art of necromancy intrigued Rook greatly, being the Undead Knight that he is - or Death Knight if you prefer - the art of strewing together a servant made from spare parts - Elf/Golem/Troll/Barbarian/Giant Frog/ etc. ect. ect. - never endeared him. At least, that's what he would tell her when she asked.

Rook spared a glance to his servant, one of his many useless messengers. Not that he ever needed them per say, since any messages he needed delivered would generally fall to his lackey Hanza, such situations being few and far in-between, but at least the majority were good at keeping his home relatively clean. "What?"

"Maaaaster.." the thing groaned again, pushing one of its eyeballs back into place ".. shaaaadeee retuurrrrned." it hobbled up to the table, placing a clear Amethyst gem that glowed softly before Rook. "Maaassterrr, isss Iggoorr gooodd?" it bellowed pathetically, licking at its master's plated boots.

Rook kicked the thing irritably, causing it to lose its balance and roll onto it's back. "Roll that damn tongue of yours up! And clean up this god awful mess!"

"I think he likes you." smirked Hanza smugly, crossing her arms just under her breasts, "Heh, think he's the only thing that likes you."

"Bitch." Rook retorted simply, taking an appreciative glance at her rack before turning to the jewel curiously. "I wonder what this is..." Picking it up, he focused his cold undead eyes on the gem. "Ah, well.. this is interesting." he sounded surprised. "Well.. well well." he sounded thoroughly pleased.

"What's got you so happy?" Hanza questioned coolly, eyeing the abomination as it righted itself up and started trudging out of the room looking the picture of dejection. "That thing must really love Rook, geesh." she thought evilly, unable to keep a smirk off her face. It was prime teasing material!

"Looks like the 'Boogey-Man' finally claimed some lives." Rook chuckled, finding it amusing, "An Elven witch, and some Were-tigress. They have been missing for weeks, all hunting parties sent to either rescue them, or at least confirm their deaths have returned with not a whisper of their fates." he tossed the gem back to the table irritably, "Old news." he grumbled.

"Old news?"

Rook nodded with a snort, "Yeah. My spy network must be in the shit-hole now. That particular event is over a month old, the two would-be victims were already found." he shrugged then, "They said they escaped while the Smilodon was off hunting or something. At least, that's their public statement."

"Ah.. any clue where the Smilodon is now?" asked Hanza, lifting the gem up to review the report held within.

"They sent a few more Death Squads, hoping that all their numbers would be enough to kill or subdue the creature. Couldn't find hide nor hare of him this time." Rook chuckled after that, as if he could see something amusing with the disappearance of the Smilodon.

"Want me to go track him down? Make a deal?" Hanza offered sincerely. "Anything to get away from your perverted stares." Hanza thought, well aware of her bosses.. perversions. How an Undead Knight could get turned on like Rook did was beyond her, and hopefully she would never have to find out.

Rook leaned up against his chair, crossing his plated arms over his chest; the sound of metal scraping against metal is ignored by both of them. "Don't see why not. Just be care.. HEY!" Rook glared at her as she ran out the door. "YOU BITCH! I WASN'T FINISHED!"

"FUCK YOU ASSHOLE! I'LL DO THIS MY WAY!" Hanza screamed back, twisting in her forward run to flip Rook the bird. She didn't notice the little abomination making it's way slowly down the hall until she tripped over it and fell to the ground on her back, hard. The force she hit the little thing caused it to stumble forward, only to crash on top of her, it's tongue escaping it's grotesque mouth and slobber all over her hair, face, and chest.

"HAHAHAHAHA" Rook fell to the ground in hysterics

"GET OFF ME!" Hanza screeched, her reaction at first being far too girly. She seemed to freeze and tremble like a little child, until her rage came back to the fore and she decked the little creature.

A loud crunch sound echoed down the hall as Hanza's fist broke the creature's jaw, shattering it into many pieces. Blood erupted from its wound, or at least what would be considered blood to these creatures. A yellowish caucus substance oozed out of its wounds, pooling around it's head and splattering over Hanza's leather tunic.

While Rook laughs, the abomination regains consciousness, and Hanza goes on her search for the Smilodon,

The hamlet of Trill, a fishing village located along the Northern shores of the East Continent, just a few miles north of the Seer's desert. The small village was a regular stop over point for weary travelers looking for a hot meal and a cozy bed to snuggle up in during the bitter rain season that plagued the far north from time to time.

It was also the first town that Ranma Saotome entered, testing his luck that the general populace wouldn't discover him.

Nearly three weeks had passed since he released Trisha and Sylvia from captivity, and those three weeks were spent traveling this new harsh land. Ranma didn't disillusion himself in the belief that now he could take human form his troubles would for the most part simply disappear. It was never that easy.

Still, he had skirted along the edges of Seer's Hamlet, one of the few major cities to be found in this world. He briefly considered entering the city, but thoughts of powerful mages seeing through his form deterred that idea. Better to err on the side of caution and all that.

"Best to take this one tiny step at a time." Ranma thought bitterly.

Leaving Seer's Hamlet, he traveled to the North, stopping only sparingly to hunt and refill his water supply when he had too. He would every now and then stumble on fellow travelers, but they tended to ignore him in favor of being on their way. Not that he blamed them one bit, since the entire continent seemed fearful of the Boogie Man that inhabited it, even if their prejudice and fear were unwarranted.

Back to Trill. After nearly a month of wandering, he decided it was time to 'test' the waters, so to speak. He didn't want to risk entering a big city, such as Seer's Hamlet, least he be discovered. No matter how strong he thought he was, he didn't give himself a snowball's chance in hell of beating down a whole city long enough to escape.

Trill on the other hand consisted of little more than five families or so, not counting the wanderers that pass through to resupply and rest their tired feet. He still had to be careful however, extremely so, for while the numbers remained low, occasionally he would hear snippets of 'Police Activity' in the area from the more.. shady characters who had tried quite often to rob him of his wealth.

"Enough of that." Ranma snorted, banishing his thoughts. He took a brief moment to check his inventory. Short Sword. Check. Back pack. Check. Neato Pouch that can hold more than it size suggests. Double Check. He really needed to think of a way to thank all those mercenaries that had come after him this last year. They had some real neat toys, liberated of course after he kicked their ass.

"Let's do this."

Grendel wasn't human. Not that this mattered in the common day to day affairs of his Tavern, but to those who had never seen a Forest Troll owning and operating a Tavern and Inn the sight would be pretty intimidating, if not completely surreal.

"Come on Gren.. one more? Please?" cried the pathetic drunk, shaking his glass in the air. "I promise I'll leave.. just.. give me one more.."

Grendel sighed, grabbing the small human by the back of his tunic, "Nay, Bob! I said nay, and I mean nay!" Bob struggled in vain against the troll's strength, try as he might he couldn't get the big oaf to just let go. "HEY! At least let me leave with my dignity! Come on! Put me down!"

Grendel shrugged, dropping the man at the door. "Go on then, get on outta here till you sober up!"

Bob grumbled something before exiting the bar.

"Ahhh Grendel!" Grendel winced, "Why are you so meeeean to that man!" his overly cheery waitress replied, pouting cutely at the troll that happened to be nearly double her five foot four inches in height.

"Tabitha! He was drunk, I can't be havin drunk people starting things around..." Grendel stuttered at first, his words dying off at the crocodile tears streaming down Tabitha's cheeks. "Ah.. eh.. I'll.. eh.." he stammered. Damn that girl! Can't she ever leave me alone!? AAARRGGGGH

"Ano.. hello." Tabitha stopped crying immediately, her dazzling smile returning in full force as she stepped around the troll. Grendel breathed a sigh of relief; glad her attention had been taken elsewhere.

"HeeeeeLLLLLLLLO!" chirruped Tabitha, snagging the young man's arm before cheerfully giving him a look over. Young, not even in his second decade yet. He had long black as night hair with a few streaks of gray. No wait. Tabitha took a closer look, her expressive purple eyes seeming to eat up all that he was. Silver, it was strands of silver. The rest of him seemed pleasing as well for the poor waitress. Dusky tanned skin, ocean blue eyes and strong able looking body. His clothes on the other hand left much to be desired, their quality poor in both monetary value and fashion sense. He was dirty too.

Conclusion! A poor traveling farmer boy, his only saving grace being that he was remarkably handsome for such.

"Welcome to the Rusty Swallow Tavern!" cheerfully greeted Tabitha, idly pushing some of her blond hair back as she dragged the poor boy inside. "I'll be your hostess for the evening! What can I get a devilishly charming boy like yourself?" she batted her eyelashes, squeezing his arm tightly to her abundant chest, enjoying the feel of his toned muscles.

"Ah.." the boy stuttered, blushing somewhat from the contact, "Ah.. miss.. heh.. ah.."

"Your a cutie!" she suddenly said, zooming up to his face. A nose width apart, she seemed to gaze into his eyes deeply before smiling brightly, "Let's get you seated."

Ranma gulped, suppressing a shudder as the overly cheerful girl left him in his seat, "Jesus... what the hell was that about?" he thought, slightly irritated by her cheerful demeanor.

Banishing thoughts about his waitress, Ranma took the peaceful moment to examine the Tavern. A rather large room by his standards, constructed of wood, hay, rope and some kind of plaster. The room itself was filled numerous tables and chairs, as well as a long bar on the opposite side of the room. He eyed the huge troll for a moment, before ignoring him out right. The building itself was pretty empty, but it was still the early afternoon and he guessed they wouldn't start filling up until later.

"What can I get for ya cutie?" Ranma startled at the annoying waitresses reappearance. Tabitha was all smiles, leaning towards him in order to inspire rather.. lewd.. thoughts in him. Ranma didn't notice, "Ah.. yeah.. what kind of food you servin?"

"Well.." Tabitha commented, tapping her chin thoughtfully, "It's too early for the main course to be prepared." she hmmed, some more before giggling, "If you don't mind cold soup, I can rustle up some of last nights dinner."

"That's fine. Gimme five servings then." replied Ranma with a shrug, "Oh, and something refreshing to drink."

"Righty-o!" she chirruped walking away.

Ranma watched her leave for a moment, and then snorted. "Cheery obliviousness.. how.. depressing." he grumbled, thoughts of Kasumi bubbling to the forefront.

"What the HELL!" Thought Ranma with a snarl on his face as he stared at a bulletin board. It was a simple thing, only a five by five foot board with numerous pictures tacked across it surface. Lets rephrase that; Numerous WANTED posters tacked across its surface.

When he had first noticed the board he had simply gone to examine it out of curiosity. Boy, now he wish he hadn't.

The Board held the Ten most wanted fugitives in all of Jade. Aside from various pirates, bandit leaders and the like, Ranma had only found his attention drawn to four posters in particular.

The first two pictures were actually a pair of thieves wanted for numerous thefts, robberies, and in some cases assault as they made their escape. The picture themselves weren't very defined, just a shadowy picture of a monstrous man and some dark skinned elf.

Ranma shook his head, wondering what it was about the two that had grabbed his attention in the first place.

The top two most wanted were... of him. More importantly, they had managed to draw a very credible likeness to his male Hybrid form "Shit." he thought irritably. He shouldn't have expected anything less, but it still pissed him off for being hunted simply because he was born.

Ranma growled at the last picture. It held a very credible likeness to his female human form, and he had no doubt this was Trisha and Sylvia's fault. He really shouldn't have transformed to his human female form in front of them, he had just been so damn excited though.

"It figures." he grumbled irritably before returning to his table.

 **by Sect**

Sylvia waved goodbye to the people leaving their table at a pub in Seer's Hamlet, with a smile painted onto her face. She kept smiling until she saw the people exit the pub, chatting amiably amongst themselves, then dropped it. She groaned as she leaned back in the booth. "Man, just how many people are going to drop by?"

Trisha shrugged in her booth across from Sylvia. "Hopefully, that's the last. It's nearly nighttime, anyways," she replied, rotating her shoulders, which responded with a staccato of weary pops, much to her delight.

"Yeah," the mage replied, rubbing her wrist unconsciously, where once existed a magic dampener. "And they're gonna tell their friends, but bungle up the story in the process..." she muttered.

The weretigress snorted. "Tell me about it. I heard a version that put us as 'hanging from a oak tree, tied together with our own entrails'." She then grinned. "I nearly showed that jackass his OWN entrails."

Sylvia moaned as she slid down in her seat. "I feel bad for Miss Ranko, though. She was actually kind of nice, AND YOU KNOW IT!" she half shouted at her companion, who was shuddering.

She smiled weakly. "Sorry. It's just not everyday where you teach your bane on how to turn human," she apologized. Trisha looked down at the table, where her ale was beginning to turn stale. "You're right though; those Edge Guard guys REALLY overstated our story."

Trisha wondered briefly at why she suddenly felt like she was black and white, then shrugged. This went unnoticed by the werelion and jagwere, who were alternating between staring at them and frantically writing down notes. Quite frankly, she would be impressed if anyone could actually read the hastily scribbled messages.

"And what happened then?" Gar asked, staring at the two previously captive women.

The elf could not prevent a sweatdrop from rolling down the back of her head; the sight of these two "professional" warriors acting panicky at the mention of a saber toothed werecat was strangely humorous. "Er... and then after Miss Ranko learned how to shift, and figured out that she could learn magic..."

"...Beast... forces weretiger... to reveal secrets..." Onoli muttered as he jotted down the notes. He then grabbed a blank sheet of paper, putting the now covered sheet on top of a steadily growing pile.

Sylvia and Trisha sighed at hearing the werelion; not much they could do about it, as, for some reason, the werecats heard a slightly altered version of their tale. "... She then let us go, after giving us a knife each so that we could protect ourselves..." the weretigress continued, shaking her head at the sight of the two.

"... the two escape... steals weapons to protect themselves... in case of pursuit..." the jagwere mumbled, accidentally poking a hole through the parchment.

The mage groaned; she could tell immediately that this was trouble.

Sylvia watched confusedly as her drinking partner sat up straight, looking around as if puzzled. "What?"

"Er... nothing..." Trisha admitted. "It's just I had a very strange feeling just now. As though I was suddenly filled with color..." She blushed at the wide eyed look her friend was giving her.

"Okay... I think you should just lay off of the alcohol right now..." Sylvia started, then blinked as the sight of a tall, gorgeous weretiger suddenly appeared next to their booth; she also noted a sudden annoyed and furious look come across Trisha's face.

The weretiger studied the mage. "I see. So you are the ones captured by that monster," he intoned, scanning her from head to toe, which made the elf blush scarlet. "Well," he said, after a long pause, then turned slowly to look at her friend, "maybe the two of you should be checked over by... oh shit," he finished, in a surprisingly calm manner.

Surprisingly calm, in the face of a foot rocketing towards one's head.

The weretigress stood up after sending the other were into a nearby table. "C'mon Sylvia, we're leaving," she ordered darkly, slamming several coins on the table. She then turned stiffly, and stomped out of the pub.

Sylvia stared at her back stupidly for several moments, then rushed out of the booth, glancing back over her shoulder at the rather cute, and rather unconscious, weretiger. She struggled to catch up with the other's quick march. "Hey, what was that about?" she questioned, which caused Trisha to halt.

She took several deep breaths, before turning towards her much shorter friend. "That... asshole..." she struggled to contain her fury, "you saw me deck, is Tigra. Do not go anywhere near him." Sylvia cupped her chin in a pale skinned hand.

"Tigra..." she mused, then linked. "Oh yeah! He's that Guard who's known as the biggest playboy in Seer's Hamlet!" she exclaimed. SHe then remembered the look on the girl's face in the pub. "Let me guess," she said, looking at the furious were's face, "he seduced you, then ran off with another girl after a few days?" she asked.

Trisha growled, with clenched teeth, "Try a few hours." Sylvia winced.

"Ouch. That's tough..."

Hanza search paths for the evil, sadistic, Were Boogeyman.

Somehow, in some strange way, Ranma gets into BIG trouble.

...Actually, it's probably not all that surprising...

 **by Matdeception**

"What the hell?" Sylvia screeched in surprise as Trisha suddenly collapsed to the ground, victim of a rather brutal strike to the head.

Sylvia quickly summoned energy from the Ethereal stream in preparation to defend herself from their attacker. It figured something like this would happen. They had just wanted to get away from a while, from all the crowds and the annoying questions everyone kept asking about their imprisonment under the Were-smilodon. Trisha had said she knew of a quiet, out of the way place where the two of them could go and relax.

She had agreed, glad to be away from the hustle and bustle of busy Seers Hamlet. Of course, in retrospect, she wished she hadn't. Some one seemed to be waiting for them.

"Pathetic." she heard a definite female voice nearly whisper from behind her before a she felt a searing pain at the base of her skull, and then nothing more as darkness overtook her.

Two weeks later.

Seance sighed as the temporal vortex closed behind him. While he was glad to be returning home, or at least the place he has called home for the last few years, the reason for his abrupt return isn't as nice as he had hoped it would be. Sure, he could spend a fear hours with his girl friend Genn, and he always enjoyed his time with the Digger Family in general, but the reason for his quick return from Jade was anything but for enjoyment.

The appearance of the were-smilodon hadn't set well with him, more so than the rest of Jade. At first he didn't understand why, and as the months rolled by he had all but forgotten about his initial misgivings about the creature.

Now though, now he knew why he was so uncomfortable with the situation.

"Seance?" Julia blinked; wondering why the apprentice of her husband literally appeared out of nowhere, grabbed her hand, and started dragging her to the house. She was so shocked by the action she didn't put up any kind of resistance.

"I'll be right there." Gina frowned as the person on the other end suddenly hung up. "Weird." she thought as she grabbed the videotape as was requested of her.

"What's gotten into you?!" Theo shouted at his apprentice the moment he stormed into his private study, pulling an equally shell shocked Julia behind him. Letting go of his wife, Seance slammed the door shut before turning to face the two.

"We need to talk." Seance said simply, his emotions highly guarded.

Gina frowned when she entered her father's study. It had taken her a bit of time to get from her house to here; during that time she had contemplated what the hell was up with Seance. Her only hint had been the videotape she had recorded nearly a year previous, so she assumed it has something to do with that. Still, what could it be? The Phoenix on the tape was dead; at least no one could find a body. Ditto for the were-cheetah that had been slain protecting the people of the district.

"Gina." Seance motioned for the woman to come over. He was standing beside a TV/VCR set, motioning for her to hand him the tap.

Handing the tape over, Gina asked, "What's got you so excited Seance?" turning to look at her parents, she recognized the confused look of both. They didn't know anymore than she did.

"Master Diggers." Seance began, shoving the tape into the machine but not starting it yet. "I assume both of you know about the current threat of a Were-Smilodon?"

Theo and Julia grew pensive, but nodded the affirmative.

"Were-smilodon?" Gina interjected curiously. This was the first she had heard of it.

Seance spared the sensual genius a glance, "A detailed explanation would take too much time, time I'm afraid I don't have." he stood back up, grabbing the VCR remote before facing the young woman fully, "The were-smilodon is to Jade as the Boogeyman is to Earth. I'll explain more later."

Gina spared her mother and father a glance, but they didn't seem receptive to answering the girls question at the moment. "Fine." she said slowly, "What's happened?"

"Do either of you remember the incident in Japan a little over nine months ago? Were that Phoenix attacked a district in Tokyo, and was defeated by what we assumed was a were-cheetah?"

Theo frowned, "Are you implying that situation has something to deal with this threat?"

Seance nodded, "Take what we know of the creature. He first appeared in Jade nearly nine months ago. I'm sure if someone actually went back and compared the dates you would find them within at least two, to three days time since its first appearance." he stopped for a moment, waiting for that piece of information to sink in for everyone. "Now.." he turned and hit the play button. "Watch the screen."

The screen played out it's grisly fate. Everyone there had watched it before, so none were surprised when the young man suddenly changed and literally ripped the throat of the Phoenix out with its teeth. Seance paused the tape right there and simply stared at the creature.

"Seance?" asked Julia, looking on in concern at the young mage who seemed to freeze up as he watched the screen.

Gina poked him on the arm, which served to bring him out of his stupor. Seance shook his head, chuckling bitterly as he threw a rolled up scroll on the floor before Julia and Theo. "The Death Squads sent to end the threat of the Were-smilodon have all failed, Master. However, we were able to retrieve this image with the help of a Psionicist Mage from one of the minds of the survivors."

Picking up the picture, Theo and Julia looked at it curiously, before blinking their eyes rapidly. Quickly they looked between the screen, then back to the scroll, then back to the screen. "Are you saying.. that.."

Gina frowned, moving up behind her parents to get a better look at the picture.

It was a near picture perfect likeness. The eyes, the pelt, and the snarling image of an angry beast hovering over whomever the hell the Psionicist Mage had taken the picture from.

Seance nodded. "I had suspected.."

"Did something happen, Seance?" Julia demanded of the young mage. If he had just realized who the smilodon really was, Julia doubted the boy would be this forward in revealing the truth. Something had to happen to get him so worked up.

"I'm to deliver a message to you, Julia, from the Were-smilodon." he sighed, "A few weeks ago the were-smilodon captured two members of a death squad and forced them to answer his questions. They didn't want to die, obviously, so they told him all they could. In the end he released them... with a message."

"And?" Theo strained his question, slightly stressed considering the recent revelation.

"Twinkle, twinkle, eleven in all. One by one they all will fall. Fight or flee, it matters not to me. I fight to be free, you fight to defeat me." Seance finished.

Gina blinked, "What does that mean?"

"It means.." Julia sighed, ".. he's going to come after me. Me, and the other Weapon masters."

Seance nodded, "Yes. The two who were captured by the were-smilodon told him that the ten Weapon masters and the Armsmaster herself are responsible for his being hunted."

Julia blinked, then growled. Now that was a bullshit lie! She had never sanctioned ANYONE to hunt the creature down like a criminal. "Who put that in there heads?"

Seance shrugged nervously, then sighed, "We.. don't know." he immediately waved his arms quickly, to placate the woman as he continued, "The two survivors have vanished. We don't know what happened to them, or were they went. All we know is that they were in Seers Hamlet one night, and gone the next."

Theo frowned dangerously. "It's too convenient. The disappearances, the fault being placed on the Weapon Masters and Julia."

Seance nodded gravely, "Yes, Master. It is."

"And?"

"And we believe someone is purposely manipulating events to draw the Were-smilodon on the weapon masters. If this is the same person who supposedly died killing the Phoenix, then we can assume he is capable of causing harm if not out right killing the ones he seek." he sighed miserably, "Since we have made his entire stay on Jade a living hell, constant fights with the Death Squads for no other reason than being alive, I don't doubt the possibility he will strike with deadly force against the ones he believes are the cause of his constant harassment." Seance finished.

"What does the council suspect?" Theo asked.

"The same as me. That someone they don't have eyes on is manipulating the were-smilodon, it certainly points to that. With the prejudice and fear attributed to the creature, it's proving to be extremely easy to manipulate the masses into believing the Weapon Masters and Julia will deal with the creature to keep them safe."

Julia nodded, slowly. It wasn't unbelievable. "Do we know where the were-smilodon is located?"

Seance replied in the negative, "He's completely disappeared since he released his two captives. No one has seen hide no hair of him since then."

Gina, silent for a long time, asked, "What are you going to do mom?"

"Research." Julia said simply, "I'm going to travel to Japan and see what I can discover about the boy, hopefully determine how he got to Jade in the first place and find out just what kind of person he is." she turned to Seance, "I assume you are going to warn the other Weapon Masters of this immediately, correct?" Seance nodded. "Fine. Let me know the instant the were-smilodon reappears, and keep your ears open in case this unknown manipulator starts up again."

 **by S.A.M.**

Ranma frowned as he spotted the first of these so-called Weapons Masters that supposedly placed the price on his head. 'So, you're one huh?' Amazingly, this one was rather easy to get information on as it was...

 **by Matdeception**

The Hamlet of Trill wasn't a bad short of place, Ranma decided after spending three very relaxing and soul soothing days with these simple folk. He had made many friends of the locals, as well as learned much about the outlying regions from the various travelers who would often frequent the area before moving on to the bigger better city, Seer's Hamlet.

Tabitha, after getting through her unbreakable cheerful demeanor and absolute desire to make sure her customers are satisfied no matter the cost, she was down right the best girl he had ever talked too that hadn't tried in some way to date, marry, kill, or have sex with him (well she tried, but he was too damn oblivious to pick up on her not so subtle hints). Her dreams of one day moving to a big city and becoming the absolute best waitress reminded him of his own dream, to become the best martial artist in the world. It was perhaps this one common interest, to be the best that made her such a good friend.

Grendel was the owner and operator of this Tavern Inn. A rather rough guy on the outside, always quick to doll out punishment to any would be irate customer who threatened to start a fight in his establishment, or even touch his employees against their will. That was a trait Ranma found similar to himself. He was a Forest Troll as well, a race of trolls who commonly razed through the countryside robbing weary travelers of their hard earned money and goods. Mostly a barbarian type of tribe who lived primarily in the Dorgan woods to the east of Trill; Grendel was perhaps the only exception to the race. He had risen above people's expectations on how trolls always acted, and proved many times that race, color, so on and so forth, didn't matter one bit. It was the person inside who truly mattered. Of course, when he brought the conversation of the were-smilodon to the troll, Grendel had been quick to prove he was nothing more than a hypocrite.

Bastard.

Minni was the chef of the establishment. She was a halfling, a distant cousin to the dwarven miners. Were dwarfs usually stood anyone from four feet to five feet in height with bulky muscular frames and a whole lot of hair, halflings tended to come to a height of three to four feet with slender nimble frames and a whole lot less hair, except for their feet. Minni herself was a rather shy introverted creature despite her cute looks. Come to a height of about three foot eight inches, she had a slender figure with pert breasts and long hair often times bundled up under the hair net she always wore whether she was cooking or not. Her dark brown eyes were traps however, this Ranma could attest too. Just looking in that endless void of dark swirls had captivated more than one man's heart, despite her rather small height. Ranma secretly believed Grendel and her are an item, but the sheer mechanics of it gave him a headache.

She too, seemed to be a hypocrite however. While she didn't have any problems agreeing with Grendel on his stand point about the inner spirit of a person, she was quick to trash Ranma's respect for her when she out right stated if she ever caught the were-smilodon she was going to cook him up and serve him to the personage of the Bar.

Bitch.

These three were the figurative landmarks for the small hamlet of Trill, the rest of its residents not being nearly as interesting as these three, and despite their hypocrisy Ranma almost believed he could fit in here indefinitely. He didn't though; he had a mission to complete. The weapon masters had to fall before that bitch Armsmaster joined them. Once they were dealt with, Ranma firmly believed he would finally be on the road to acceptance in this strange place.

Ranma had thought about going after the Armsmaster in exclusion to all else, but whenever he asked where she lived no one he talked to knew or were willing to divulge the information.

Fine.

He had gathered enough information about a nearby Weapon Master that he was confident he could find him. Apparently, a Ninja by the name of Tsunami was reported to be in the area, training secretly. If the rumors were to be believed, then the man was training to do battle with the Were-smilodon. Well... if that was true, Ranma had every intention of showing the man why he was considered the best of his damn generation. Besides, Trisha and Sylvia had to have delivered his message by now!

He was lost within his mind. Focused, one with the stream and his sword. Nothing mattered to the aging Ninja at this moment, nothing existed but him and his weapon. All sense of self had been bled away as he focused more and more on the sword. At this moment he had no name, he had no body, he simply was one with the sword.

He was at peace.

Flowing with practiced ease, Tsunami brought his sword to bare. Thrusting, slicing, evading, and countering unseen attacks as he moved with a fluid grace few in the world could possibly attain in their entire lives. He was one with the Art, and the Art was one with him. Nothing could possibly break his moment of Zen.

Something did.

"So. You are one of the Weapon Masters." a voice broke through the haze of tranquility he had brought himself in. "Not what I expected." the gruff male voice seemed at both respectful and demeaning at the same time.

Startled, Tsunami brought his sword forward as he turned to face the unknown presence. "How the hell did he sneak up on me?" he thought in slight panic, before he once again brought his iron will to the fore. "The man must be extremely skilled to perform such a feat."

Before he stood a man in a black as night cloak that seemed to shroud his entire body. he stood at a height of about five feet eight inches, but other than a few stray wisps of hair peeking out from under the hood Tsunami could make out no distinguishing features. The man's fists were held open at his side in a non-threatening gesture.

~"Greetings traveler.."~ Tsunami began cautiously, lowering his sword ever so slightly when the man made no movement to attack. ~"What can I do for you?"~

The man made no move as he answered Tsunami's question, "Nothing. Nothing yet, anyway. Tell me stranger, are you perhaps the one known as Tsunami? Weapon Master of the noble Ninja Clan?" the mans tone spoke of respect.

~"I am. I'm impressed you were able to find me, much less sneak up on me the way you did."~ Tsunami replied with a respectful nod. He didn't lower his weapon however, something just seemed.. wrong. ~"You seem to have me at a disadvantage Mr..?"~

Tsunami could swear the man was smiling at him now, even though he couldn't see it. "Twinkle twinkle, eleven in all. One by one, you all shall fall. Fight or flee, it matters not to me. I fight to be free, you fight to defeat me." the man then clenched his hands tightly, and in a slightly strained voice the man finished, "The test is now! Will you fail?"

~"What..?"~ Tsunami began. He hadn't been warned about the Were-smilodon coming after the Weapon Masters, so he slightly curious about what the man was blabbering about. He had been about to ask for an explanation in more detail, until his breath caught in his throat at the sight before him.

The man's form seemed to nearly double, stretching and growing to a height of just over nine feet tall, the cloak hiding the majority of his figure was pushed away as the transformation went underway. The sickening sound of bones breaking and reforming reached his senses, before a distinct ripping sound rent the air. The man's eyes were glowing bright blue; it's light reflecting on the angry painful snarl on his lips and the long growing canines emerging from his mouth.

It came to him suddenly. He was facing the Were-smilodon. He was facing the soul eater; he was facing someone skilled enough to sneak up on him without letting a single hint that he had been there. Now that he wasn't hiding his presence, Tsunami trembled inwardly at the sheer amount of power and presence the creature exuded. And as he watched his fists uncurl, its claws beginning to glow dangerously, Tsunami realized one thing.

~"I'm in deep shit."~

 **by Philip Weigel**

Heh heh, it is so easy to manipulate these weak minded fools into attacking Saotome. It's even easier for someone like myself, and doubly so as all these fools seem to be so afraid of him and what he is.

If only they knew who it was they should REALLY be afraid of.

That blasted Saotome, he thinks that he's so hot, but he knows NOTHING yet. No one does, nor shall anyone suspect until it is too late. Heh heh, manipulating the populace of this planet to attacking him and saying that the strongest fighters, the Armsmaster and the Weapons Master's put them up to it will definitely change Saotome into what I need him to become.

I smirk, however, it does not reach the face of who I am wearing. I really need to get rid of this shell before it is too late. Oh well, I suppose it does not matter. Until I have broken Saotome's spirit, I cannot regain my true self.

But, all I have to do is wait, and being who and what I am, I can wait for a VERY long time before my patience expires. People think of me as a fool. Well, I'll show them, I'll show them all. As of right now, my spirit is bound to two forms. Saotome is the key for my revival. When his spirit breaks and he becomes more like me, then, then I shall be reborn and NOTHING will stand in my way.

by Matdeception

"RAAAAARRGHHH" The creature screamed in rage, its voice echoing across the wide expanse. Tiny pebbles rattled on the ground, a testament to the rage that savage battle cry held.

Tsunami was left with no more time to think as the creature lunged towards him, arms extended out to maul him as if his opponent was a wild beast pouncing its prey. Tsunami shifted his stance, backstepping as the creature rushed in, and raising his sword in defense.

Tsunami blocked a savage swipe of the creature's claw with his blade, side stepping quickly to avoid it tackling him with its forward rush. Bringing his sword to bare, he thrust forward quickly to stab the creature.

The creature blocked the magical sword with his glimmering claws, an act that surprised Tsunami. He cursed himself a fool when his surprise got the better of him, the were-smilodon snaking in his defenses and punching him brutally in the ribs and chest numerous times before he could bring his sword down in a swipe, warding the creature off as he back stepped from the creature to regain the advantage of distance.

The creature seemed to stall a moment, circling him carefully as if he was searching for any holes in his defense. Tsunami winced, pain flaring in his abused ribs as he thought about his opponent. "He.. is strong. Monstrously so." His ribs felt as if they were cracked, and his chest felt as if a flare fire had seared him across the front where he had been struck. "He's fast.. really fast." Tsunami groaned again mentally at that. Fast. Strong. Skilled. It just wasn't his day.

Ranma eyed the man warily. While he had been the victor thus far in their brief melee scrimmage, a few of those sword slashes and thrusts had come close to hitting him. It was obvious though, the man wasn't an up and front fighter, and he shouldn't have expected anything less from the Ninja. They tended to work in shadows, the path of a Shinobi and all that.

Pushing forward, Ranma tested the man's defenses with numerous near amaguriken punches. He was relieved the man was able to either dodge, or deflect the blows as he backed up to gain distance. Still, he had yet to see the man on the attack, and was kind of curious how good this weapon master really was.

"Amaguriken!" He shouted, the shimmering field surrounding his claws winked out, only to reappear brightly around his fists as flaming Ki energy. His fists became a blur as they broke the sound barrier, leaving sonic booms in his wake as he lunged forward into the man's defenses.

Tsunami grunted, blocking as many of the attacks as he could while dodging what he couldn't. He couldn't contend against the speed of the attack, and not for the first time he realized the prowess of the were-smilodon had been toned down from the truth of the matter. "Shit." he groaned mentally as the force of the creature's blow blasted his katana from his hands to a good fifty or so feet behind him. As he began moving to escape the creature's attack, Tsunami felt numerous blows slam into his body. The sound of bone breaking under the assault alerted Tsunami he was really in deep shit at the moment. Pain flared up from his side, a sticky warm wetness ushering forth from his mouth with the blows. He knew it was blood.

Back flipping to escape the immediate area of destruction being inflicted by the creature, Tsunami tried to put enough space in between him and the creature while ignoring the flaring wounds of his injuries. The creature seemed to be following him though, and only now he was just outside the creatures effective attack range by the barest of margins.

Back flipping high, Tsunami pulled three specially prepared daggers from his suit. "Kanzou!" he shouted, flinging the projectiles at the creature as he tapped into the ethereal stream to speed their flight. The daggers sped true, but were knocked away with little effort as the creature jumped up into the air with Tsunami, moving faster than even someone as trained as Tsunami could see.

Ranma smirked as he took to the air after the Ninja. His daggers had been sneaky, but whatever the ninja seemed to draw power from was clearly visible to his eyes. He had to wonder why he would even do such a thing, since it wasn't very stealthy compared to a warrior of his capability.

Kicking the man brutally in the chest, Ranma was surprised to hear a distinct crack as his chest began to cave in from the force of his blows, followed by the most sickening grunt of pain he had ever heard in his short life. The man crashed into the ground roughly, slowly struggling to his feet despite the pain of numerous broken bones and internal bleeding.

Following the man back to the ground, Ranma pounced on the down man ready to end this fight. He was surprised when the man turned on his back and threw a dagger at him, this time with out whatever energy source he had used previous. Surprised by the sudden action, Ranma could do nothing as the dagger ripped into his shoulder painfully.

"~I win.."~ Tsunami communicated with a smug expression, despite the absolute mind numbing pain he felt. ~"Silver is your great..est.. what?" Tsunami's expression dropped in shock as the creature reached up and yanked the silver dagger out of his shoulder, blood falling to the ground for a few moments until the wound itself let up like a living flame of blue ki fire, only to disappear and leave no trace that he had ever been wounded in the first place.

The creature snorted, casually tossing the dagger to the side. "Don't know why everyone thinks silver is suppose to hurt me.." the thing said cruelly as he grabbed Tsunami with one of his massive hands, lifting him up from the ground. He brought the ninja up to his face before continuing, "Your not half bad, for a weapon user. Whatever Ki you're using you need to stop, I could see your attacks comin a mile away." Tsunami would grunt, if he could. The pain from his broken ribs and extremely damaged rib cage making such an action impossible. He was amazed he was still conscious considering all the damage and internal bleeding.

The creature then slammed Tsunami head first into the ground, before picking him back up and repeating many, many times until Tsunami finally lost consciousness.

Ranma grunted, pulling on the rope one last time before tying it around a tree. He spared the fallen weapon master a glance, before wrapping his cloak around himself again and running off to the south. "One down, ten to go." he thought as he ran. "Gotta hurry with the weapon masters in Seers Hamlet. They are going to be up in arms once someone finds Tsunami."

Tsunami was hanging upside down, his arms tied behind his back, while his feet were tied together to a rope that had been swing over a tree's limp, then pulled down and tied to a tree to keep Tsunami suspended five feet above the ground. His bloody clothes had been peeled away and left at the base of the tree he was tied up too, except for his face/throat scarf and a pair of underwear. His body was bruised, broken, and bloody. He was still alive, though.

"Gar?"

"Hmm? What is it Sheila?"

"Have you seen Icefang? I can't find it anywhere." Sheila said with obvious duress.

"Eh? Your scimitar?" Gar blinked. Sheila never left that weapon lying around, how the hell could it be missing. "When was the last time you saw it?"

"I.. I.." Sheila blushed with a snarl on her face, "I was practicing in the gym, you know, just in case that smilodon decided to show back up. I put it down for only a moment! Honestly! I just turned my back for a second, and it's gone!"

"Well, it couldn't have gotten far. Come on." Gar waved his hand as he moved down the hall. "I'll help you look for it." he offered amicably.

Earlier.

Trisha groaned as consciousness returned to her pained senses, once again she found herself chained to the wall of a damp cave, unable to escape. Her silver dwarven made shackles were seeing to that, the pain of having them clamped to her skin was always unbearable. This was true torture.

Eyes fluttering open, she suppressed a pained groan as she turned her head to face her constant partner in captivity. Sylvia didn't look too bad, some slight bruises was pretty much the only visible damage to her person that the were-tigress could see. "Sylvia?"

Sylvia was not a happy camper. Nope, not one bit. She and her friend had been imprisoned here for hours, if not days. No sunlight ever managed to creep into their cave, so guessing the time of day that way was simply an impossibility. All she knew for sure was she was starving, thirsty, and it seemed they were all going to die here!

"Trisha? How are you holding up?" Sylvia asked, her voice hoarse and dry. God her arms hurt! Couldn't their captors at least chain her in a way where her arms were constantly held up overhead? She didn't think she had an ounce of blood left in her limbs!

"Not.." Trisha breathed harshly, making it clear to Sylvia the girl was having trouble to breath, "Not so good. Has.. has anyone been down here?"

"No.. not since that first time."

Trisha shuddered, remembering their tormentors first visit. He, at least they supposed it was a he, had been cruel and especially callous. He had been rather.. touchy feely. Grabbing her in lewd ways that really really hurt! When she told him to go to hell, he responded by casting some kind of fire spell to burn most of her clothes off and slightly scar the skin beneath.

"I'd rather die than see him again!" Trisha spat as she banished the memories of their tormentors first visit.

"Oh, tut tut my darling." Trisha and Sylvia both felt a cold chill race up their spine as they heard that same muffled voice of their captors.

"I think it's time I teach you. My touch is to be cherished, relished for the splendor that it is." the voice cackled as his shadow seemed to loom over Trisha's chained figure.

Trisha whimpered as the figure approached.

"YOU LEAVE HER ALONE!" Sylvia screamed at their tormentor, her plea seeming to fall on deaf ears until the indescribable figure cloaked in darkness stopped suddenly, gazing it's cold glare at the elf before seeming to smile evilly, it's teeth shining like a blinding light in the darkness. "Very well.. you first."

Sylvia's eyes widened as the figure literally pounced on her, claws ripping away her dirty clothing to get at the undisturbed flesh beneath. "NOOOOOOOOO!"

Gar grumbled irritated. They two had looked all over the Gym and couldn't find hide nor hare of that damn Scimitar Ice Fang. Sheila was getting more distressed every second that went by with her weapon missing. Not that he blamed her, she was in for some serious trouble from Onoli and HQ if she didn't find the blasted then.

"Any luck, Gar?"

"None. I can't see.. Tirga?" Gar blinked as a trap door in the far side of the Gym popped open, the Were-tiger climbing out with an annoyed frown.

Tirga blinked, startled by the presence of the jagweres. "Oh, uh. Hi Gar!" he chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Something wrong?"

Gar raised an eyebrow in suspicion, before banishing such thoughts. Tirga was his friend, after all. "What were you doing in the cellar?"

Tirga frowned, before snorting, "Onoli wanted me to catalogue our emergency supplies. Damnit. Ever sense that were-smilodon showed up Onoli's been up in arms about being prepared for a war or something!" he explained as he kicked the cellar door shut.

Sheila shrugged, a little uncomfortable with the conversation, "Well, I guess I can't really blame him." she snorted, "You had to have seen the beast to know what would scare him so. Of course, being unconscious..." she let the barb hang, but Tirga didn't seem to recognize it as one.

"Whatever. What's got you two here? Practicing?" Tirga changed the subject.

"Actually... Sheila can't find Icefang. Have you seen it?" Gar asked

"Icefang? Wha.. you lost icefang!?" Tirga blinked, before sighing, "Nope, and don't even bother asking. You know I'll help look for it."

Gar chuckled. "Thanks, man."

"Mom? Why didn't we tell Brittany about this?" Gina asked curiously as she and her mother walked down the streets of Japan, their destination still a little ways off.

Julia sighed, "Because she would want to get involved."

"Well, yeah." Gina nodded, "What's wrong with that?"

"Gina dear. Do you know why Seance was so.. unwilling to describe the situation in full detail? Why he refused to go into any more than a brief explanation?" Julia questioned her daughter when the two stopped at an intersection.

Gina frowned as she thought about it. Seance had been unusually tight lipped about the overall specifics, which just begged the question of what he was hiding. Still, she wasn't a Jade native and lack the general knowledge to understand the overall threat a were-smilodon stood for. "Nope. Can't say that I do."

Julia nodded as the duo began walking again, crossing the street. "Well, dear. What would you do if you suddenly found yourself scorned, hunted, feared, and hated by everyone and anyone? What would you feel if you were being tracked down like a wounded animal simply because you're alive?"

"You mean?"

"Yes, daughter. Whoever that boy is, he's been fighting for his life since he arrived on Jade." Julia waved her hand, to forestall any questioning, "How he got there, I don't know. I suppose it doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is the boy seemed to have reached his breaking point, and someone we don't know of is manipulating things behind the scene just for this purpose."

"And you didn't want Brit to know, because if he IS really related to the were-cheetahs, then she would be hurt and reasonably upset that he was being hunted down because he was considered a monster." Gina surmised.

"It's more than that." Julia said as they turned a corner, and kept on walking.

Gina nodded with a sigh, "You're afraid she will blame you for not finding out and stopping it sooner?"

Julia nodded, though said nothing more as they walked on.

The Prefecture of Nerima had always been a hot spot for chaotic and, at least on occasion, Alien activity. It was a center of weirdness that rivaled nearly all other centers in the known world. It was in Nerima were the populous first glanced at the power of curses, the existence of Ghosts, the horror of a mummy like panty thief and letch.

It was also the place the Phoenix god Saffron had attacked in his mad quest to destroy Saotome Ranma, destroy him and everything he ever held dear. It was here where that final Battle had been fought, and it was here where Saffron and Ranma both met their ultimate end. One dying in his mad pursuit for vengeance, the other dying to defend those who simply couldn't defend themselves.

When Ranma had died, the spirit of Nerima went with him. He was mourned as a hero by the people, celebrated as someone who was simply filled with nothing but goodness and purity. Whether it was true or not didn't matter, the memory of his sacrifice would always hold a place in the hearts of those who survived the conflagration of Saffron's madness.

The reconstruction of Nerima hadn't taken very long, the prefecture was well known for its quick and efficient construction companies, but.. they simply weren't into their job as usual. Oh, the jobs got done, and everything was as sturdy as they would normally be if they had worked at their best, but it lacked.. emotion.. vitality..

There was a palpable sense of loss in the district, this was the first thing Julia and Gina a like noticed when they arrived. People moved about the streets, just doing day-to-day chores. To the unobservant, nothing would seem wrong at all with this picture. However, to some one of Julia's experience, and Gina's quizzical nature, everyone just screamed 'Sadness. Despair. Uncaring.'

"Jinkies." Gina whispered in disgusted awe as she and Julia walked on. "Everyone is so sad."

"I know." her mother replied. "Let's see if we can learn anything."

"His name was Ranma Saotome." the boy whispered reverently, head lowered in honor for the dutiful departed.

"I see." Julia nodded, impressed with the respect the boy seemed to hold for this Ranma Saotome. "Tell me.. what was he like?"

The boy chuckled, not in amusement, but the laugh of someone who had yet to bury the distinct pain of loss, a sorrowful agonizing sound. "He.. he was Ranma.. best martial artist ever!" the kid crowded, many passersby who heard him nodded in agreement, before moving on. "About the nicest guy you can ever meet. Strong, confident, smart. Guy was a saint I tell yah!"

Julia nodded thoughtfully, listening intently. Gina remained silent as the guy spoke.

"He didn't deserve what he got. Not after saving all those lives so many times. Not after putting up with the shit he had too around here. It's amazing he was still sane after all the hell people gave him for simply being alive."

Julia stiffened when the boy said that. Narrowing her eyes at the boy, "Could you explain that bit? About him still being sane after the hell he went through for being alive."

The boy shrugged, not seeming to detect the sudden agitation Julia exuded, "Well. People were always coming around trying to kill him. Most of the time it was because of jealousy and stuff, y'know? None of em liked the fact Ranma had so much, and were pissed off about it. If you ask me, they just didn't want to work as hard as he did to get what he got."

"What did he have?" Gina asked curiously. What could the boy possibly have that would cause the type of animosity the boy was describing.

"Talent, looks, the fact he seemed to attract an army of girls." the guy chuckled, before continuing, "Not that Ranma ever understood the bit about girls. His pops raised him out in the wilderness most of his life, the guy wouldn't know what to do with a girl even if she asked. Still, because he seemed to attract the girls without trying, bunch of idiots starting blaming him for their own failures."

"Like?" Julia prompted.

"Eh, well. This one guy blamed Ranma because he kept getting lost. Heck, he'd blame Ranma if there were a cloud in the sky. Mind you, I don't know that for sure, but the few times I seen him attack Ranma out of the blue for stupid reasons I got to say it is possible." the guy coughed, before continuing, "Another guy was mad because the girl he loved didn't want him, but wanted Ranma. It wasn't like Ranma tried or anything to get the her, the girl just didn't like the guy because he was always so pushy and demanding of her when he had no right to be."

"I.. see." Gina suddenly wished she didn't ask. "Is that all?"

The guy snorted, looking at Gina as if she was the biggest idiot in the world. "Pfeh, that's the tip of the iceberg. You think those guys are bad, you should hear about his father."

"His father?"

"Two words. Neko Ken. That's all I gotta say. Genma was a real dumb ass, but even I didn't think he was stupid enough to wrap his six year old son up and fish sausage before throwing him into a pit of starving cats." the guy shuddered, "Torture, it's amazing Ranma hadn't snapped. The guy must have thrown the kid in at least a dozen times. All it did in the end was give the poor guy a uncompromising fear of cats... Oh, and he would go bezerk anytime he couldn't get away from a cat. Scary stuff, let me tell you."

Julia paled when the boy first said the words 'Neko-Ken'. She was a martial artist, perhaps one of the best, so thus it's only logical to assume she had heard of that screwed up technique before. She didn't try to learn it, oh hell no. She didn't want to suffer through that torment for a technique that, as far as she was concerned, wasn't worth it.

"I think I get it." Gina waved the boy off, feeling slightly green as she imaged Ranma as a little boy getting thrown into a pit by some demon. "Do you know where Ranma's parents live?"

The boy nodded, "Mrs. Saotome lives about 3 kilometers that way.." he pointed down the street, "Big house, can't miss it. Genma's been living in the local jailhouse since the incident. Police did research on the boy; it was only a matter of time until they found out about Genma child abusing ass.

"Thanks.."

 **by Philip Weigel**

Ranma went back into Trill to get some supplies, he figured that it would be better this way, so that when he went over to Seer's Hamlet to get the other two Weapons Masters, he could be on the run for a bit and not have to stop for supplies along the way.

While he was buying food, he started to listen to the conversations that were buzzing around. "I heard that the boogeyman's in the area."

"Really? We better stock up on silver if that's the case then."

Ranma frowned, narrowing his eyes at the two who were talking. 'Why does EVERYONE think that silver can hurt me?'

"Hey, you know what I heard?"

"What?"

"Dishonored Weapons Master G'Nolga's being transferred to Sanctuary."

This perked Ranma's interest. He went over to the two who were talking. "Excuse me."

The two, an Elf and a halfling looked at him. The Elf spoke up. "Yeah? What do you want?"

"Oh sorry, didn't mean to scare you there. But, what's this about a Weapons Master to Sanctuary?"

The Halfling shrugged. "Well, you see, about a good day's worth of boating from here there's an island chain called Niek. On that island is a place called Sanctuary."

Ranma nodded slowly. "Okay. Sorry, I'm not from around here."

The Elf snorted. "Obviously. Anyway, that's a place where people go to get better. Weapons Master G'Nolga's being transferred there soon."

Ranma nodded. "Okay, just what does this G'Nolga look like?"

The Elf shrugged and gave a general description of G'Nolga. "She's a Dwarf, and a dang good fighter too. Too bad she messed up."

Ranma nodded and started to walk away. "Thanks!"

The two nodded and waved at him then went back to their own conversations.

by Red Priest of the 17th Order

Looking up at the lanky human with pale skin, Ranma's eye twitched considerably. "Why won't you let me have this boat!?"

"Cuz I don't give boats to people," the man said snottily.

Ranma just stared at the man. "Then explain to he, why you're hanging out at the pier with all the boats, standing next to a sign that says 'boat rentals', and are wearing a #$%ING SAILOR'S OUTFIT!?"

"Because I just does," the tall, skinny bastard said. "Besides, you ain't got nothin' good on you as to compensate me fer lettin' ya rent these durn boats, kid."

Ranma's eye twitched considerably. Oh, this guy was just asking for an ass kicking.

But still... The human form was the only thing Ranma had left to hide in from the law. He couldn't just beat the crap out of this bastard and steal the boat outright. Nope. He'd have to find some other way to convince the guy to let him have one. "Listen, it's not like I'm going to keep it. I just really need to go out to the ocean."

"Sorry, small-fry. Ain't nothin' doin'," the man said as he spat a bit of chewing tobacco into Ranma's face. "Now get yer butt outta my boat, before I call them there Edge Guards upon yer sorry ass."

Growling in the back of his throat, Ranma wiped his face with the back of his head. "Okay, listen, I'll get out, but who the hell do you think you are?"

The man stood tall and proud for a second. "The names one-leg Pete. Best durn boat-man, fisherman, and river-dancer this side of the Dim Crag Mountains."

"One-leg Pete, eh?" Ranma asked as he wiped his face off some more. "Why's that?"

"Cause a durn mammoth shark bit me leg off, I tell you what."

Scratching the side of his head, Ranma asked, "So, why do you have two legs?"

"I gots better," Pete said proudly. He then narrowed his eyes. "Now get yer ass outta my boat, lazy-ass good-fer-nothin' polecat!"

Frowning, Ranma stood up on the boat, to try to climb out of it, and back onto the pier...

...Only to have Pete use the fishing rod in his hand to tip the boat, causing Ranma to splash down in it.

Smiling, Pete said, "There. Yer outta my boat now, ain't ye? And look! Now you can swim out to the ocean if you want."

Ranma ignored the man's laughter as he climbed back onto the pier, drenched. He may not have wanted to bring any unnecessary attention to himself, but as far as he was concerned... This bastard Pete was getting a new asshole.

(-)

Pete yawned as he took a swig of his ale jug. "Ah... It sure is a *hiccup* a purty night fer fishin'... Full moon... Calm waters... Jes perfect."

"Yes, it is, isn't it?" Came a booming male voice from the side.

Blinking his eyes, Pete turned to see just who was talking so damn loud, when he got an eyeful of two LARGE fangs. "Damn salespeople! *Hiccup*! I told ye, I's already gots a set o' steak-knives."

Blinking his eyes, Pete took a step-back... And saw that this was one BIG werecat. "Aw, nine hells..."

Smiling a little evilly, Ranma cracked his knuckles. Oh, this was going to be sweet.

"ROOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRR!"

*Crash*!

*Maim*!

*Mangle*! "EEEEEEEEEK!" *Hiccup*!

*Pow*!

*Crack*!

*Ker-snack*!

*101-Hit Combo*!

Smiling widely, Ranma stood over the broken form of one-legged Pete. Man did it feel good to just break out from time-to-time and raise a little hell. "Now then, good bye," Ranma said as he hopped in the boat. Grabbing either oar, Ranma began rowing out into sea, hopefully, into the destination of the Niek Isles and Sanctuary.

 **by Matdeception**

Life was never easy for Nodoka Saotome.

She had grown up as any werecheetah did, with loving parents and the insatiable happiness of a child cared for. She had grown, she had learned, she had been happy. Happy, until the werewolves brought utter destruction to her species. She hadn't been present during the assault, belonging to the only family who had decided to abandon the clan itself to remain on Earth, while the rest of them traveled to the Retreat with the werewolves.

She herself had wanted to go with her friends, with Cyan and Xerses and their beautiful baby. Honor, however, demanded she stay with her already dying parents. Besides, she was convinced Cyan would send someone back after her parents had died to bring her to the retreat.

Traveling to Japan, she and her parents had simply assumed everything had gone according to plan. After all, there was never any news about a string of murders where the exodus was taking place, so how on earth were they suppose to know any different?

Nodoka had been relatively young then, growing up in Japan with her dying parents. At the age of nineteen her wonderful parents made a horrible, at least that's what she thoroughly believed at the time, choice concerning their daughter's future. They engaged her to marry a man, a man by the name of Saotome Genma.

She was, understandably, furious with her parents for daring to dictate her life for her. Who wouldn't be? A week later she had been married to the lout, on their wedding night he had been pulled away, thankfully, before he could even consummate the ritual for some martial arts training.

Thankful for at least this small reprieve, Nodoka decided she needed to just get out. Get out of the house that was now her home; get out of the honorable and dutiful daughter routine she had played a part in since she was born. She, put simply, needed to go wild for a few days to calm her frazzled nerves.

That was where she met him. Dominic De'Marc, a traveling British man staying in Japan for a few days due to certain complications on the home front. It was lust at first sight as far as Nodoka was concerned. So, after three days full of orgasmic bliss, she discovered why she had lusted after him in the first place.

He was a species of were known as a smilodon, or better known as a Saber tooth weretiger. He had told her about his race, not because he loved the girl or any such silly notion, but simply because he somehow discovered she herself was a werecheetah.

He never did explain how he knew she was one, only that he did. The reason she had found herself attracted to the man was quite simple. The boon, or curse depending on how you viewed it, of the were-smilodon breed was unconscious control of pheromones. It wasn't over powering to the point of forcing someone into submission to his desires, but it was just enough to garner a lot of unwanted attention.

With normal, every day humans the effect was hardly noticeable. If the smilodon was male, and other males picked up on the pheromones, the most that would occur would be a notion of anger or jealously, unless they were gay of course. That brought a whole different set of problems. On human females the effect was mildly greater than on males, while most women would find the man attractive and.. alluring, they never tended to do much more then try to get to know the man better.

Dominic had explained about one extreme case in his family history, about a female smilodon who had overactive pheromones. She had lived a very interesting life. Females in droves hated her, often times making her life a living hell. While males expressed interest in her by the dozens. In the end, she simply chose one man and escaped to a tropical island, where she spent the rest of her life in the throes of passion and pumping out babies with the man she loved.

She never wanted to return to that life again, and was happy for the exclusion. At least, that's what Dominic said.

The pheromones, however, affected werecreatures differently. It basically took the base effect of a normal human who had been affected by the pheromones, and often times multiplied them. The catch, however, was it only worked on werecats of the opposite sex. So, if a male were-smilodon met a trio of traveling male were creatures, they wouldn't be affected. If it were a trio of female werecreatures, then the male could find himself being mauled by suddenly horny females.

That was the main reason Smilodons had stayed on Earth during the time of the great Migration to Jade. Most werecats left the Earth, meaning the smilodons could live their lives in at least relative peace, well.. when one considered the absolute hell of hiding from other werecats as opposed to just having to be careful around normal humans. Anyway, that's besides the point.

After their brief meeting, Dominic had returned to Britain, his time in Japan over.

Nodoka had returned back to her life, back to her home, back to her cold honor and for the most part put Dominic behind her. She didn't discover until after Ranma's birth, when she had tried to at least let the real father know, that Dominic had been killed. Murdered in his sleep when a group of feminists decided to deal with the 'womanizing pervert'. Oh well.

Since her parents had died three months before Ranma's birth, Dominic joining them as well, Nodoka did the only thing she could think of concerning Ranma's heritage. The Japanese would not like a 'nail' like Ranma to stick up in their conformity; such a presence would only invite discord and chaos. Or so she had reasoned at the time.

So she had his heritage locked away, sealed by the power of a local mystic. It shouldn't have resurfaced until the mystic, or Nodoka herself unlocked his powers. They had though, during that titanic struggle with Saffron over the remains of eastern Nerima. Where her son had fought with everything he had to save those he loved, where he died just as he came into his heritage.

Well, that's what everyone else thought. Nodoka had a conversation with Cologne not long after the battle; she was relieved to know her son had been sent to Jade. As far as Nodoka knew, Jade was a place of magic and intrigue, where creatures such as herself and her son would be accepted with not even a blink of the eye. She was also giddy at the prospect of Ranma meeting some attractive were-cats, maybe even Cyan's daughter? Oh! That would be so nice.

Grandbabies!

If only she knew..

 **by Red Priest of the 17th Order**

Ranma's eyes narrowed as he walked slowly towards the outer-walls of what he assumed could only be Sanctuary.

After all, he had landed on the trio of islands late last night, an hour or so before daybreak. He had a semi-night-vision thanks to his were-smilodon heritage, but there wasn't much to see. These were, in all respect, deserted islands.

However, Ranma did see ONE structure in the distance. What could only have been described as a mountain with a series of detailed structures on it. It just had to be Sanctuary. He knew it was where he would find Weapons Master G'nolga.

Ranma didn't bother getting back into his boat to cross the distance between two of the islands. He just set out on foot and low and behold, here he was! "And here I'll find that Weapons Master!" Ranma thought with an almost-evil sense of glee.

However, Ranma knew they just weren't going to let him waltz on in there. Some stupid guards would probably throw a hissy fit and get in his damned way! "Which means I'm going to have to sneak my way in," Ranma thought in all seriousness

However, Ranma knew that he shouldn't take an unnecessary risk. Somehow, he just knew deep down that even with HIS level of skill, something could go wrong to alert his presence to the authorities of Sanctuary, and that was just going to be more trouble than it was worth. And even if by the off-chance they subdued him, they would more than likely throw him into a prison cell as well.

And Ranma had done enough jail-time for his damned old man back when he was a kid.

Ranma knew that there was only one thing that could help him now. But it was a 'sealed' technique, he promised himself and Ryuu Kumon that he would never again use such dreaded techniques...

...

Wait a minute! Since when did Ranma still play by the rules!? He had gotten used to picking on the weak, he had gotten used to stealing again? Hell, what's it to someone in another frickin' realm that Ranma never like anyway, if he were to use techniques that were his damned BIRTHRIGHT and he really needed right now!

And so, the son of Genma, (whose morals were really starting to mimic his old man's) concentrated more of his internal energies into his aura than normal. The revised Shooting Star Cloth technique soon came into play as Ranma slowly slipped from view, his own aura acting as an invisible shield to reflect and redirect light. He smirked as he looked down at his hand. Not even he could see it now. "Worked like a charm," Ranma thought to himself.

And so, without a word, Ranma walked up the large staircase, which would lead him up the mountain.

(-)

Ranma frowned as he made it to the top of the staircase. He was at the entry area to Sanctuary now, and it set him on edge. He looked over at the beautifully carved fountain which had constant flowing water, and the other architecture of raised stone pillars, which reminded him of those baby-mobile that are usually attached to cribs.

"No bars... No guards... No gates... What gives with this place?" Ranma thought seriously. Besides the outer wall at the base of the mountain, (which was not sealed off by any means) there was nothing here to indicate that Ranma was in a prison.

"Maybe I've got the wrong place?" Ranma thought to himself, more than a little annoyed. He had been rowing a boat all last night AND walking around all freakin' day. He did not want to have it turn out that he had been on some wild goose chase.

Still, wouldn't hurt to look around, to get a layout of the area. There had to be SOMETHING that could indicate to where the hell he was!

And so, staying to walls, and out of the areas with lots of room to move, Ranma made his way through the Sanctuary. After all, he didn't want to bump into anyone or maybe even set off an alarm, (if there were any).

"Sneaky feet... Creaky feet... Ninja feet..." Ranma thought to himself with a chuckle.

(-)

Ranma groaned as he sat back at the foot of a statue. It was afternoon already, and the place was almost absolutely dead! He had found where the prisoners were staying, signifying that this WAS Sanctuary at least... And he found out just how it was that Sanctuary was run due to overhearing a few 'doctors' and some 'inmates' talking.

It's true that there were no bars, hoards, or gates in the sense Ranma was used to, but he found out that the inmates were kept in line because of the Sanctuary Bracelets that they wore. And there were wards set up at certain places that the bracelets could not go back. "Like a dog and one of those invisible fences," Ranma mumbled to himself. It was rather ingenious in a way, but as far as Ranma was concerned, it was too easy to try and screw with the system if one didn't have a bracelet on them.

"They probably never thought of anyone breaking into Sanctuary before," Ranma thought as he scratched his chin and chuckled. "Well there's always a first time for everything."

But still, that wasn't the BIG problem, oh no. Ranma still had no clue as to where G'nolga was being held, even with overhearing doctors, nurses, and 'psychiatrists' talk and converse amongst each other. Damn it! Why couldn't these people be more like Tofu? That guy was only useful doctor Ranma had ever known; even when he was screwing with his legs or acting like a total jackass around Kasumi.

"Damn it, it can't be too hard to find a damned Dwarven woman with a chestnut brown mane of hair in a ponytail, can it?" Ranma mentally whined. Ah well. At least when he was in his hybrid form, his ki reserves were up higher than ever before. He could hold this damned technique all day if he had to, which seemed more than likely was the case.

Getting up from his sitting position, Ranma stretched a little. He cursed his luck when his back make a cracking noise and caused two doctors to look in his direction. Still, they didn't see him, or anything in that direction, and just went back to what they were doing.

"Idiots," Ranma thought irritably as he walked off to find something of use.

(-)

Stifling a yawn, Ranma laid back on top of a wall. So far, this day had been boring. Boring, boring, oh ye gods-awful boring. Ranma was genuinely thinking of kicking himself in the ass for not just going to Seer's Hamlet and finding Lily and Karia. He might have had a whole village tracking him, but he'd have at least gotten something important done!

His eyes moved about the courtyard as he saw something different than the norm off how today's events went. Two doctors were gathered outside in the center by that large fountain, and they form a circle with five inmates. "I wonder what they're doing?" Ranma thought as he looked down.

The inmates ranged in species. One was a Drow with blue skin and pale white hair. Another was a green-skinned troll with blue hair. A third was a white-haired human with tattoos all over her body. Another was dark-skinned woman and with one blue right eye and one green left eye. The fifth inmate was a cat-woman, a werecat probably, with black and white fur.

However, it was the two doctors that caught his attention. While the first was a dark-skinned woman in violet robes with the hood drawn forward to hide her face the other was a dwarf in green robes, "With a long mane of chestnut hair tied in a ponytail."

Ranma smiled and watched. This would have explained a lot of things if it seemed G'nolga was a doctor instead. Information could have gotten mangled and G'nolga could have just been moved to Sanctuary as a doctor, not a prisoner/patient.

Marigold sighed as she looked over her trouble group. "Okay, group, we're here for our weekly group session. So please, let's start off with a small case of dream analysis. So tell me ladies, what have you seen in your dreams."

"I dreamt I was in the bathroom, eating ice-cream with a sack of horse manure, and that I was using some of my fellow inmates here as toilet paper since there wasn't any left on the roll, and then snapped their necks because they weren't cleaning right, " said the troll woman. The two inmates sitting to either side of her scooted away a little bit.

The dark skinned woman with the two eye colors said, "You know me. I don't sleep. She frowned at the dark elf. SOMEONE KEEPS WAKING ME UP WITH HER GODDAMNED LESBIAN GIRLFRIEND!"

The Drow wrapped her arm around the tattooed woman while the tattoo girl gave the dark-skinned woman the finger. "Damn girl, why don't you just shut the fuck up or something? You're just jealous, you know that?"

"Fuck you, bitch!"

"Don't you go calling my girl a bitch, you bitch!"

Marigold groaned and slapped a hand on her face. She hated this group of trouble makers and just wished she could send them off to a real prison. This couldn't get any worse...

Wait, it could. Tanya hadn't gone yet...

"Sigh, Tanya?" Marigold asked as she looked at the Kryn.

Looking Marigold dead in the eye, Tanya answered, "Oh, not much... Just dreamt I was strangling the Armsmaster with the tail of her own daughter, after I had brutally stabbed her husband to death with the other daughter's glasses," Tanya said sarcastically.

Ranma's ears perked up at that. Someone hated the Armsmaster? Hello!

(-)

Tanya sighed as she was lead back to her cell and the magical wall turned on behind her. Yes, she was resisting the help. Yes, she was purposely being stubborn. Yes, she knew she was being a bitch. Why did she do it? Simple. She didn't want to give these people the satisfaction of helping her. She didn't need to be under observation, she needed to be under her prince, dammit! That bitch had stolen the man who should have been her husband, and all she wanted was a little payback!

Still she had to admit, with the way she's been acting, she wouldn't be getting out. "Maybe I should hold back on the Armsmaster comments?" Tanya asked herself seriously. "It just seems to piss them off more than my other comments about her family. I just want to get back at Cheetah soon, and I can't do that while stuck in here."

Sighing, Tanya walked over to her bed to lay down. This day just totally sucked. Hell, her lifetime totally sucked. "What I wouldn't give to get the hell out of here," Tanya mumbled.

"Really?" A male voice boomed from inside her room. "THAT could be arranged."

 **by Philip Weigel**

Tanya narrowed her eyes as she turned around. "Who the hell are you! What do you want?"

The male voice chuckled. "You don't need to be so defensive woman. I've just come to make a little deal with you."

"What deal?"

"You want to get back at the Armsmaster for some reason, I want to get at her too for what she and the Weapons Masters did to me. How about it?" Ranma was never one for long and flowery speeches, he left that kind of stuff for Kuno.

Tanya blinked, and thought about it. "Hmm, just who are you? And, show yourself dammit! I don't want to think I really am going crazy here!"

The male voice chuckled, suddenly the air in front of Tanya shimmered and warped and there was a HUGE Werecat in front of her with mean ass teeth. "Well?" The Werecat growled. "What's your decision?"

Tanya was about to say something, when someone walked into her cell behind the Smilodon.

Merigold sighed and decided to try and talk to Tanya one-on-one. Not for help or anything like that like she did in the group sessions, but rather to find out what was really troubling the poor girl. 'She's acting more and more like my sister.' And that thought scared Merigold quite a bit.

Walking over to Tanya's "cell" she dropped the magic that kept the door closed and walked inside. She opened her mouth to speak and froze when she saw the HUGE Werecat in front of her. "Wh-what the?"

Ranma turned and growled. 'Dammit! I don't need this!'

Merigold paled and backed up a bit. 'The, the, the Were Smilodon!' Seeing the Werecat growl at her, she started to try and placate him. "Now, now Mr. evil Werecat, I'm sure we can, HELP! HE'S GOING TO EAT ME!, just calm down and talk about this rationally, GOOD LORD'S I'M GOING TO DIE!, and we don't need to do anything rash, HE'S GOING TO RIP MY ARMS OFF AND FEAST ON MY BONES!, if we can all sit down, I'm sure that everything, GOOD LORD'S ABOVE, I'M GOING TO DIE!, will be alright."

Ranma and Tanya were both sweat dropping at this. Ranma shook his head and turned to Tanya. "Well?"

"You can get me out of here?" Ranma nodded. "And keep me out?" He nodded again. "And help me get revenge?" Ranma shrugged. "I'M IN! But this bracelet..." She pointed pathetically to her arm.

*Click-clack*

"What the?" Tanya blinked and looked at her arm, and the bracelet on the ground.

Ranma shrugged and pocketed the "key" to the bracelet. "Stole it from some guy a while ago, he had this on him and it opened up a similar bracelet so I kept it on me."

Merigold stepped in front of Ranma. "Y-You can't take her, HELP! HELP! I'M GOING TO DIE!, I won't let you."

Ranma looked at her. "You Granola or whatever her name is?"

"Um, you must mean my sister, HELP!, G'Nolga."

Ranma growled. "Damn!" He then grabbed Tanya and took off, but not before backhanding Merigold into the wall and knocking her out. As soon as he stepped outside the cell, Ranma slipped back into his Umisenken and started running. "Don't make a sound and they won't find us." He whispered to his captive.

Tanya just nodded.

 **by Matdeception**

"Is this the place?"

Julia took a moment to glance around the area. Wreaths of flowers littered the front of this particular house, many with pictures of the boy at its center, all arrange with great care and respect for what it represented.

She turned to her daughter, and sarcastically bit out, "You think?"

Gina chuckled nervously, "Yeah, I guess it was kind of obvious."

Julia smiled good naturedly, before steeling herself. Reaching out and knocking on the door, she stepped back beside her daughter and waited for someone to answer.

Sooner than expected, a rather beautiful woman with red hair answered the door. She was dressed in a kimono that meshed well with her slightly tanned complexion and dim blue eyes. "Yes? Can I help you?" For a woman who lost her son heroically, she didn't seem all that sad. Julia noted this as she bowed politely.

"Greetings Saotome-san. My name is Julia Diggers and this.." she motioned towards her daughter, who was awkwardly bowing as well, "Is my daughter Gina Diggers."

"Nice to meet you." the woman returned the boy politely, before continuing as any traditional Japanese housewife would. "Would you like to come in?"

Julia nodded, grateful for the invitation. "If it wouldn't be an incontinence to you, Saotome-san. My daughter and I have some.. questions we will like to ask you concerning the whereabouts of your son."

Nodoka frowned thoughtfully. It was no secret her son was believed dead, despite the truth she knew, which just begged the question of what the woman meant by 'Whereabouts' of her son. "I see.."

Julia noticed a few things right off about their hostess. One, she didn't look anything like a werecheetah in human form. That could be for numerous reasons; maybe she just dyed her hair? Maybe her genetics allowed for an easier time in hiding the truth of her lineage? Or maybe, and she hoped it wasn't so; she was actually a were-smilodon in human form. She really didn't want to deal with a pissed off smilodon who might just find out her son is being hunting like a ravenous animal on jade.

"What blend is this, if I may ask Saotome-san?" Gina asked, sipping her tea curiously. She wasn't a big tea drinker, but every now and then she would indulge herself.

Kneeling by the table, Nodoka waved the question off, "Typical store-bought brand." Effectively ruining Gina's misconceptions that all tea served by the Japanese were of 'Special blends'

"I see.."

"Mrs. Diggers? You said you had some questions about the whereabouts of my son? Correct?"

"Ah, yes Saotome-san. First... we want you to know we saw your son go into his Hybrid form." Julia started, watching Nodoka for any signs of recognition.

Nodoka wasn't some stupid third-rate idiot. She knew how to keep her emotions in check, and well hidden. After all, being married to a bastard like Genma all theses years gave her a lot of time to practice feigning indifference. "Hybrid form? Are you referring to his curse?"

Julia and Gina blinked. Did the woman refer to the fact he was a were-creature as a curse? It would make sense, somewhat, considering their understanding of the Japanese social order. Still... "What curse is that?" Julia asked curiously.

"His Jusenkyo curse. The one that causes him to turn into a girl." Nodoka explained. She knew full well they weren't talking about that curse, but by feigning ignorance she hoped to turn the advantage over to her side in this conversation.

"Ah.." Julia began, perplexed. The boy had a curse that turned him into a girl? Unbelievable. "No, that's not what we meant."

Nodoka adopted an extreme confused expression, "Then what do you mean by Hybrid form?"

Julia groaned when Gina opened her mouth and said, "His werecreature Hybrid form, Saotome-san."

Nodoka grinned inwardly. Ah, youth. So trusting, so impatient, so stupid. "I see you know more about Ranma's kind then you let on at first."

Julia spared Gina a glare, said girl just chuckled nervously. "Yes, obviously."

Nodoka nodded, taking a sip of her tea before responding, "Well then, before I answer anymore of your questions, I'd like to know how either of you two are related to my son and his whereabouts. How do you know what he is?"

Gina opened her big mouth again; Julia was seriously contemplating getting a muzzle for the girl. "My mom's the Armsmaster of Jade! That's how."

"Armsmaster? What's that?" Nodoka asked curiously.

Pinching her daughter's leg before she could once again open her mouth and give away more information, Julia turned to answer the woman's question with a smirk. "It's a title reserved for the best of the best on Jade. Martial arts, weapon styles. Ect. Ect." she was happy the woman made no pretense to being oblivious about Jade's existence.

"I see." Nodoka nodded, "Very well. How is my manly son?"

"He's.. about as expected." Julia replied, cryptically.

"Then he?" Nodoka bit on her lower lip tersely, seemingly excited about something.

"Ah.. possibly."

"WAI! MY SON IS SO MANLY! GRANDBABIES! WAI!" Nodoka started dancing around with streamers in her hands, confetti appearing out of nowhere in the air as the aging Saotome Matriarch danced around.

Gina and Julia sweat dropped, the same thought echoing in their heads as they watched the woman dance. "Where did this come from?"

"So.. you are a werecheetah?" Gina repeated the statement.

"Hmmhmm. Yes dear."

"How did you survive the massacre!?" Gina screeched.

Nodoka blinked, "Massacre? What are you talking about, dear?"

Julia sighed. Well, this wasn't what she was expecting. She spared Gina a glare before answering Nodoka's question, "A little over twenty years ago the majority of the werecheetah clan were killed, they were betrayed by the leader of the werewolves and slain before they could make the trip to Jade. Many werewolves and cheetahs lost their lives that night, and both species suffered under the insane werewolf leader's betrayal."

"What.. that.. that's absurd!" Nodoka nearly lost her cool at that. "What proof do you have? No! Cyan! Xerses! Your saying they are all dead?!"

Julia shook her head sadly, "Not all dead. There was only one survivor of the massacre, the baby of the were-cheetah leaders."

"Cyan and Xerses baby..." Nodoka whispered in near shock... "Then all that's left is Cyan's child, me, and my son?"

Julia winced at the way Nodoka said that. If she took the shock of the near eradication of her clan this bad, how would she feel when she found out her son is all but dead on Jade? She didn't think he would survive much longer, not if he went after the weapon masters and herself like her son had planned.

BZZZZZZZZT

Gina sighed, whipping out her cell phone before giving Nodoka and Julia an apologetic look. "Gina here, what's up?"

"Ah, Saotome-san.. I know this isn't the best time, but.. your son is in danger."

Nodoka snapped right to attention, glaring at the woman, "What? My son is on Jade, Digger-san, what would he have to fear there?!"

"Ah.. your son is a smilodon as well, right?"

"Yes..."

"Well, on Jade, a smilodon is considered a boogey-man. An unholy creature that consumes the souls of the innocent, children supposedly being it's favorite. Your son.. has.." Julia cursed inwardly; this was really going to suck. "Your son has been hunted since the day he arrived there, set upon by angry mobs of people who want to see the threat of a smilodon ended. He.."

Nodoka scowled openly, "WHAT! YOU MEAN MY BABY BOY IS BEING HUNTED DOWN LIKE SOME DERANGED KILLER?! YOU TELL ME THEY'RE GOING TO KILL HIM?!"

"We don't know he's going to die. At the moment no one can get near him before he attacks." Julia sighed, wondering idly what the hell was taking Gina so long to finish her damn call. "Look, someone is using your son to get at the Weapon Masters of Jade, which includes me as the leader of the group. I want, no I need your help to stop your son before it's too late."

"You.. you want ME to help you KILL MY OWN SON?"

"No!" Julia swore, this wasn't the way she had planned things to go. "No! We want you to calm him down! Make him see reason! He hasn't done anything but defend..."

"Mom!" Gina interrupted loudly. "Mom! Grandpa's been hurt!"

Julia blinked, "What?"

"It was Saotome-san's son! He confronted Grandpa and hurt him really bad!" Gina blabbered out, lacking a lot of tack considering Nodoka wasn't five feet from the girl. "Dad said he's not going to die, he was just hurt really bad and left tied up in a public place for someone to find."

"Well... he HAD just defended himself until now, that is." Julia drawled. "Still, we don't want him killed. We don't think your son is behind everything that's happening, but while your son is out causing trouble there isn't anything I can do to help him."

Nodoka tried to make sense of it all. She had always been told Jade was a place of mystical beauty, a land of tolerance and indifference. This woman however admitted her own son was being hunted down like some common criminal. Hell, he's been fighting for his life for over nine whole months! Added to the fact she had just learned that she, a girl she had never met since she was a baby, and her own son were the last of the werecheetah bloodline? Oh, today just couldn't get any worse.

"Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuckity fuck fuck." Nodoka ranted, Gina blushed at the sight of the older woman cursing, temporarily forgetting this woman's son had kicked her grandfather's ass, while Julia just raised an eyebrow at the woman.

"Ah.. Saotome.. I don't mean to be rude.." Nodoka glared, Julia ignored her and continued, "Will you help us save your son before.. before permanent harm befalls him?"

Nodoka once again grew silent for a long time. She stiffened slightly, before nodding, "Yes, I'll do what I can to see my son safely home."

"Good."

 **by Philip Weigel**

Shortly after getting out of Sanctuary, Ranma took off at full speed to where his boat was. Placing Tanya in the boat, he jumped over her, landed inside, which was preferable to landing in the water, took the oars and started rowing the boat out.

As soon as she was sat down in the boat, Tanya placed a hand on her chest to try and control her breathing, moving at that speed was exhilarating, but a bit scary.

After a few moments of calming down, Tanya looked at Ranma. "So why the hell was that Dwarf afraid of you?"

Ranma blinked and shrugged, it felt kind of nice that someone didn't fear him just on sight. "To be honest..."

"Yes?"

"This whole world is fucked up!"

Tanya nodded. "I know. But then again, you could scare people pretty easily."

Ranma rolled his eyes. "You have NO idea. I've been in this fucking place for nine months, and from day ONE I was labeled a monster and hunted."

Tanya nodded, thinking about how the people in Sanctuary had been treating her for the last three months because of what she did to the Arms Master's family. She then sighed sadly as she remembered just WHY she was in there.

Hearing that sigh, Ranma raised an eyebrow and looked at the girl in front of him. "Not that it's any of my business but what the hell did they put you there for? You speak out against the Armsmaster or something?"

Tanya's visage darkened. "Nothing like that. I tried to kill her daughter three months ago."

Now, before Ranma had gone through what he did while on Jade, he might've kicked her out of the boat, but after being here for nine months, he could see her side more easily than before. But he did look at her curiously. "Yeesh. You hated the Armsmaster so much you tried to kill her daughter?"

Tanya shook her head. "Not the Armsmaster, just her daughter! I used to be the High Priestess of El Dorado, I was going to marry the Prince, Strype, the man I've loved before I knew what love was, and then SHE..." Tanya started to get angrier and angrier at the thought of what happened.

Ranma raised an eyebrow while rowing. "She?"

"BRITANNY DIGGERS!"

Ranma blinked. "Britanny Diggers... Is she the Arms Master's daughter?"

"YES! That, that ALLEY CAT, stole my beloved from me, right from underneath my eyes!"

Ranma frowned, for some reason, he could relate to that. "What? Did she pretend to be your friend, only to sleep with him behind your back?"

Tanya shook her head. "She, she just stole him from me, with her looks and everything! I tried to win Strype back, but I couldn't. I had to do something, so I kept trying to get her out of the picture."

Ranma grunted at that. For some reason, that struck a chord close to home with him. 'No, I know why, she's acting just like Shampoo and Ukyou did when they tried to get rid of Akane.'

'Still, she doesn't seem evil. Let's see here... Hmm, got it!' "Hey, um, I don't think I got your name."

"Tanya'Rey."

"Ranma Saotome. Now that we know each other better here, did you try and match this Britanny person up with someone else?"

Tanya sighed, and placed her head in the palms of her hands. "I tried. I so tried. But it is SO hard to do so since she's the last Werecheetah."

Ranma nodded and sighed. "Okay. Not much I can say. But man, that Armsmaster and her family seem to screw people over without giving a shit."

Tanya nodded. "No kidding."

"I mean, I didn't even DO anything to her and she and her Weapons Master friends label me public enemy number one."

Tanya blinked. "You're kidding! You're NOT kidding are you?"

Ranma sighed. "Wish I was."

Tanya shook her head. "That's rough. But what can you do about it?"

"I get here. I save a family from a group of bandits. Next day, I'm up to my fucking neck in DEATH SQUADS!" Tanya winced at that. "Land of peace, beauty, and tolerance my ebony-furred ass!"

Tanya sighed. "Sorry. People here are pretty nice, if you don't piss them off. But I suppose that they hate you though. And people don't really need a reason to hate, just being different is enough I suppose."

Ranma blinked. "I guess."

 **by Red Priest of the 17th Order**

Before another would could be said Tanya noticed something was off. "Hey, Ranma?"

"Yeah?" Ranma asked.

"Is it just me, or is there violin music playing in the background?"

"What?" Ranma asked. He strained his ears to listen and frowned. "Oh, great! Here comes another one!"

Blinking her eyes, Tanya asked, "Another one?"

Suddenly, Tanya's question was answered when a thirty foot, black skinned, four red-eyed Demon Shark suddenly appeared from beneath the waves, its jaws opened wide attacks the boat, going for Tanya. The Krun ex-High Priestess was so scared at the sight that she forgot that she could use magic to defend herself! She raised her hands up to cover her face as she screamed in terror.

*WHAM*! *THUNK*! *SPLURT*!

"Stupid shark," Tanya heard Ranma call out. "That's the third time already!"

At that, Tanya lowered her hands to see what happened. There was Ranma, holding the thing up with his hand inside its neck. He had killed it with his claws. Tanya was about to ask how he did then, when she blanched at what he did next. Biting onto the nose, Ranma was starting to eat shark in front of her!

Ranma sighed in relief. He was actually thankful that this damn shark through to attack him. He hadn't eaten all day since he entered Sanctuary, and that invisibility technique left him feeling VERY hungry.

After a few more satisfying bites, Ranma noticed that Tanya was staring at him. Holding up the Demon Shark's body a bit, Ranma asked, "Want a bite?"

Seeing Tanya just gawk at him, Ranma shrugged his shoulder. "Trust me. The fin's the best part, though I prefer the eyes. Something about the texture is so good." So saying, Ranma stuck his tongue into the Demon Shark's eye socket, prying out the eye. He then started chewing vigorously, a look of enjoyment on his face.

Having watched all this, Tanya was starting to turn a bit green, which showed up from underneath her fur. "Eww..." Tanya grumbled as he stomach grumbled, threatening to let loose what little contents it had in a violent display.

Noticing Tanya looked a little unsettled, Ranma thought that maybe she wasn't the type to dig into organs. "Oh, wait!" Ranma said as a thought hit him. "You might want the meatier parts."

"Meatier parts?" Tanya repeated. She watched as Ranma snapped off the Demon Shark's head.

Using his hand, Ranma tore off a good chunk form inside and offered her the bit of bloody meat. He didn't mind that it was still dripping. "Here." He said as his hand was extended, holding the large chunk of shark meat.

Staring at the trail of blood dripping onto the boat, Tanya was now becoming VERY green at the sight. "Um, well, um..." Tanya mumbled, feeling a little unbalanced and disturbed by the sight. However, she did notice, to her horror, that her stomach was hungry... And it was a more pleasant sight than watching the shark's eye torn out, (if not by much.)

At Tanya's reluctance, Ranma said, "Oh, don't worry about it, Tanya. It's like sushi, only with a texture of raw beef."

Nodding her head slowly, Tanya took hold of the hunk of meat. She felt her hands most from the blood. Closing her eyes, Tanya lifted it to her lips to take a small bite. Chewing, Tanya blinked her eyes wide in surprise. "Hey! It IS good!" She shouted in utter surprise.

Smirking, Ranma said, "Told you! Here, try one of the eye." And with that, Ranma used a claw to pry out one of the three remaining eyes.

Tanya looked at Ranma as he offered her the eye. Meat was okay, but an eyeball?

Seeing Tanya reluctant again, Ranma rolled his eyes. "Trust me. It's VERY tasty," he said as he held out his extended claw, the red eye on it.

Wincing, Tanya had to admit Ranma hadn't steered her wrong yet. Daintily pulling the eyeball off of his claw with two fingers, she popped it into her mouth. Surprisingly, it WAS good!

Ranma smiled as he watched Tanya now eating into her large bit of shark meat with gusto. Deciding to let her have the rest of the shark, Ranma took the oars in hand and continued rowing once more. "I take it you haven't eaten in awhile?"

Looking up at Ranma, Tanya nodded her head and answered after she swallowed. "Yes, We're given weekly rations. Some of the other inmates tend to take my things."

At hearing that, Ranma frowned. "Yeesh! What about the cafeteria? Don't they give you anything there?

Shrugging her shoulder, Tanya answered, "Just a small serving of soup at lunchtime; that's it." Tanya then sighed. "And I haven't been allowed out of my cell much these past few months."

Wincing, Ranma mumbled, "Harsh." Then, his eyes looked right at Tanya. "And why not? I don't think they'd want you to starve."

Sighing, Tanya admitted, "It's because of how I view the Armsmaster. Weapons Master G'Nolga, from what I hear, doesn't like her either."

Ranma's rowing slowed a little at hearing that. "Oh?"

Nodding her head, Tanya answered, "From what I heard, G'Nolga lost her honor to Julia over something and that's why she's in prison now. She's also Julia's, the Armsmaster, biggest rival," Looking at Ranma, she said, "She's the best fighter short of Julia from what I hear."

"Really?" Ranma said slowly. "So she's been arrested for speaking out against the Armsmaster?"

"Not sure," Tanya admitted. "I don't know the whole story here."

"Hmm..." Ranma mumbled, his face took on a serious look.

Tanya looked at Ranma, noticing the sudden change in demeanor. "What's wrong?"

"Well, Tanya..." Ranma started at length. "Looks like I might have been wrong."

"Oh?" Tanya asked, wondering what Ranma meant.

"Perhaps," Ranma started, speaking more to himself than Tanya. "I shouldn't be going out of my way to fight this one..." At noticing Tanya looking at him, Ranma explained, "She might be in the same boat as me."

At seeing Tanya blink her eyes, Ranma smirked and said, "No pun intended."

Tanya had a feeling where Ranma was going with this. "Um, are you going to..."

"Maybe..." Was all Ranma said on that.

"Hoo boy..." Tanya mumbled as she rolled her eyes. This was going to be something.

"But first," Ranma said to change the subject, "I'm getting you back to the city I'm using as a base; Trill." Ranma smiled a little and said, "We'll get you a nice meal and warm bed."

Tanya nodded her head gratefully at hearing that, but she looked a little down. "Someone might recognize me though, if word got out about my escape." She did manage to smile slightly and say, "And thank you."

"No problem," was all Ranma said on that as he reached into a pants' pocket. One that happened to be a pocket of holding.

Tanya blinked her eyes at the sight. Ranma was sticking his arm farther into his pocket than he should have been able to do. "What're you doing?" Tanya asked curiously.

The answer Tanya got was Ranma pulling out a nice violet silk cloak from his pocket. "Something I pulled off some snobby hunter that was after me."

"Pretty," Tanya mumbled as she stared at the garment.

"Here," was all Ranma said as he tossed it to Tanya.

Holding up her hands, Tanya managed to catch the cloak on reflex, hoping it wouldn't smell like fish due to the meal she had on her lap. "T-thank you," she said.

"You can hide yourself a bit with that," Ranma said. "I mean, no one would expect a 'poor prisoner' to have such expensive clothing."

"Heh, you're right," Tanya said. She gave Ranma a smile. "Thank you so much."

Seeing the smile on Tanya's face, Ranma couldn't help but smile back. That was probably the first genuine smile he received since coming to this damned world. "Look, I'm going to have to be in human form when we get back. But we're going to arrive after dark, okay?"


	2. Chapter 2

by Matdeception

Five hours after the great escape

"So.. she's gone?" Dee'm sighed, scratching his chin irritably. Why did he have to be called out to investigate this anyway? Couldn't they have sent some stupid apprentice or something? Blah.

Merigold nodded, rubbing her sore jaw where the smilodon had pummeled her. "Yes. He walked right in here and took her without so much as an iota of trouble."

"Why would the smilodon come all the way here? Just to bust her out of jail? Why? It doesn't make sense." No one was supposed to know Tanya was even being kept here, as a favor to the Armsmaster family. So how would he know about her?

"Well.. Tanya has always been pretty vocal about her displeasure with the Armsmaster. Maybe that's the reason?" Merigold offered nervously.

"No. It might be the reason he would break her out, but it doesn't explain how he knew she was here in the first place. Aside from the Armsmaster family and the conclave, no one but you knew why she was being held here." Dee'm explained.

"Ah.." Merigold sighed. Well, this was just perfect. Tanya was her responsibility darn it! Now that smilodon had come, freed the prisoner, and decked... Merigold snapped to attention as something popped up in her mind.

"Hmmm? Something you're not telling me?" Dee'm noticed the sudden change in stance and stature.

"He asked if I was G'nolga. Then seemed upset I wasn't. I think he might have meant to break G'nolga out..." Merigold explained, shivering as she realized that beast was searching for her dear demented sister. G'nolga was a nice girl at heart; she's just a violent maniac when it comes to Julia Brigand-Diggers.

"Unlikely. You've heard about Tsunami, haven't you?"

"Who hasn't?" The Grandmaster Ninja had gotten his ass handed to him by a group of trolls led by the infamous mage Curly. It's said Tsunami managed to cleave over twelve of the mongrels before the Mage overpowered him through brute magical force! Why, it was the talk of the dimension! Thank goodness Tsunami wasn't too terribly hurt, well, except for his pride.

"Well, what you don't know is the were-smilodon was the one who beat him." Dee'm explained, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"Wha.. that shouldn't be possible!" Merigold exclaimed! It couldn't be possible! No! She won't believe! She can't believe it! That would mean the were-smilodon was capable of facing down ANY of the weapon masters! Heck, even the Armsmaster.. well.. Possible.. okay maybe... fine fine, the chance of him beating Julia was slim to none, but who knows for sure?

"We've surmised the were-smilodon is seeking to humiliate the weapon masters, possibly even the Armsmaster herself."

"But.. why?"

"We don't know."

"Is there anything I can do? G'nolga is my sister!" Merigold glared at the mage. Her sister may be nuts, but she was still family.

"Keep information about the break out under wraps. I believe we will move G'nolga to the Main Guard just in case. At the very least, we might be able to set a trap and capture or destroy the creature before anyone else gets hurt."

"Using my sister as bait?" Merigold nearly snarled.

by Philip Weigel

Around the time of midnight, if one happened to have a watch that is, a small boat with two passengers pulled up to the docks of Trill. Ranma looked around before shifting back to his human form. "Good, no one's here." He whispered to himself.

He got out and then helped Tanya out. The Kryn was dressed in the purple shawl and looked to be a rather rich woman. The Ex-High Priestess looked around and blinked. "Rather small town."

Ranma nodded. "I know. It's not even on the maps. That's why I chose it." It was true, Trill wasn't a large town, having only a population of about 300, it didn't even get onto the world map, like many small towns of Earth never got onto a national map. "Bout the only thing here is the boat docks, the Tavern and a hotel. Well, there's a couple other things, but those are the most important." Jerking his head to the side he started walking, with Tanya right behind him. "C'mon, I've got a room at the hotel."

Tanya blinked. "If you scare people, how can you have a room here?"

Ranma chuckled. "Heh, only my hybrid form scares people. As long as they don't see it, then I don't need to worry about it."

The Kryn nodded.

Hanza frowned as she looked through the porno highly artistic, albeit adult, artwork in the magazines in the shop. 'Damn, isn't there ANYTHING good to look at anymore?' Hanza frowned as she continued to look through the porno artistically adult pictures.

After a few minutes of grumbling about there being nothing good to look at, Hanza marched out of the shop. She was in Seer's Hamlet, but she was wearing a cloak that allowed her to move around and only those that looked at her closely enough would recognize her.

Of course, her BAS (Big Ass Sword) was on her back, but that was to be expected. She walked over to the Tavern to hear about what rumors were flying.

"Hey, there 'you-know-what' was seen near Trill."

"Really? I heard that Curly recently beat Weapons Master Tsunami."

"You fool! That's just a cover-up! It's got to be! The truth is out there! The 'you-know-what' had to have beat up Tsunami."

"But why would they cover it up?"

"Because if the 'you-know-what' actually did beat Weapons Master Tsunami, then we're all in trouble."

"Yikes."

Hanza frowned thoughtfully, 'you-know-what' referred to the Were Smilodon as everyone was afraid to actually say the term out loud anymore, fearing that saying the term would bring the boogey-man right down on top of them in a flash. 'Trill huh? Not too far from here. Just outside the desert.'

"Hey, you know what I heard?"

"What?"

"Weapons Master G'Nolga's transfer to Sanctuary was delayed for some reason, I hear that she's going to the Main Guard."

"How'd you hear this?"

"I overheard this Edge Guard Weretiger talking about it. Course, he was drunk, but still."

"Really? Where's she going to be at?"

"Heard that she'll be in Trine tomorrow."

"Trine? Where's that?"

"Oh, the maps make it look like Trinc."

"Oh that place."

Hanza hummed. 'Let's see. Trine isn't too far from here, just a bit further than Trill is. Hmm, maybe the Were Smilodon will head there as well?' Hanza didn't know why, but she had the distinct impression that going to Trine will allow her to get to the Were Smilodon if he came after G'Nolga.'

Hanza didn't know how right she was.

Ranma smirked while he and Tanya ate some food. He whispered to Tanya. "Tomorrow, we're heading for Trine."

Tanya blinked. "Why not tonight?"

"Heh, I figure you'd want some rest first."

Tanya shrugged. "Why not?"

by Matdeception

Dee'm sighed, smoothing his robes out a bit as he took his seat at his desk. Opening the drawer, he pulled out a bottle of some greenish blue liquid and a shot glass. Popping the top off, he moved to pour some into his glass before shrugging, and started drinking from the bottle.

"Today just can't get any freakin worse." He bemoaned the way fate seemed to have stacked the odds against him. First, this business concerning Tsunami. He had thought the cover up using Curly the dark mage as the scapegoat would hold longer than it did, but that was assuming the other council members could keep a secret worth a damn. "No." he reminded himself. It wasn't their fault entirely, it wasn't their fault they had nosy apprentices who couldn't keep their damn mouths shut whenever they started to abide alcohol.

Then there was the recent activities within Sanctuary itself. Who would have thought the were-smilodon would show up there to bust someone out? Hell, who would be stupid enough to even attempt such a stupid thing? It didn't help matters at all that he succeeded with flying colors either. Sanctuary had been designed to house the worst of the worst, it's position on the Neik island was suppose to deter any would be average day moron who would try to break in. Even if they managed it, no one should have been able to remove the bracelets that kept the inmates in line.

"Unless a stupid apprentice managed to get a bracelet and a key, tried to hunt down the were-smilodon to gain the glory of capturing the beast, only to have his ass handed to him and the key and bracelet stolen from him. Oh, and that stupid apprentice only informed the council of his stupidity after the damage had been done, when the event that he lost the key at took place a good three months prior!" he grumbled, taking another long shot from the bottle.

Then that same damn apprentice had been present when he explained what had happened, and why he believed the smilodon had broken into sanctuary in the first place! Still, it wasn't the apprentice's fault he accidentally left his communication crystal on. It wasn't his fault the person who had the other end at the time was in a damn bar getting drunk himself, and in his own stupor he brought it out so everyone could listen in. Why? Probably trying to impress some wench.

So, not even six hours after the were-smilodon broke Tanya'Rey from prison had the cover up been blown, and the secret about the smilodon trying to get at G'nolga revealed to anyone not drunk enough to hear it.

It also didn't help much that a convention on dimensional traveling had been in Durpan at the time, and the moment they news broke mages with the power started teleporting everywhere, spreading the story as they went.

No, today wasn't Dee'm's day, and he had every attention of just getting drunk and let the others deal with this stupidity. "God must hate me." he grumbled as he took another long gulp of booze. "May you rot in hell, Al Bundy... you stupid apprentice."

Ranma was in relatively good spirits this morning, for many reasons. Tabitha, the local waitress at the Tavern and Inn he was staying at had been in early and had a feast fit for a king set out for him when he walked down the stairs. He didn't know how she knew he was here, since the previous night she wasn't working, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Another reason would be the woman walking beside him at the moment. The escaped convict Tanya'Rey. No she didn't do anything in particular, and besides a brief conversation this morning concerning womanly needs and why she hated this time of the month (Most of which Ranma didn't get, anyway), she had been pretty silent most of the trip to Trine.. or was that Trinc? Stupid maps.

Anyway, the reason the woman at his side contributed to his good mood was simply because she wasn't scared of him. She knew who he was, what he was, and she didn't show the slightest fear. Hell, she was being down right social able, all things considered. That felt good, to not be completely and utterly alone.

The last reason he felt so good was a pretty simple one. It didn't really affect him either, but it was something to brighten the day. Minni had shouted in jubilation before he left, apparently Grendel finally got off his fat ass and proposed to the halfling. The look on Tanya's face when she saw the nearly nine foot tall troll pick up the three feet eight inch halfling was too damn funny.

She too couldn't understand the mechanics when it came to their relationship. Then again, it didn't matter. Heh.

Hanza grumbled irritably as she moved through the streets of Trine. She had moved hard through the night to make it here as soon as she could. Call it a gut instinct, but she just knew this was where the Smilodon was going to show up next. All she had to do was find where G'nolga was being kept, and simply keep a watch out until the fun started.

"Easy as pie." she chuckled darkly, watching a pair of tight buns go by before she slapped herself and snarled mentally, "You're a man, you're not a girl, looking at a guy's ass is BAD!"

"Pfeh. How long are we responsible for holding her, anyway?"

Alexander, a kitsune in human form sighed, "Look Terry, I'm going to repeat this for you one last time. We are going to hold her until an escort from the Main Guard comes and picks her up. Now shut up already!"

Terry sighed, idly fixing his straw hat while parting his blond bangs from his eyes. "Yeah, I know. She just stares at me though! It's unnerving man!"

G'nolga continued to glare at the pathetic human, her features stone cold and not showing an ounce of emotion. Well, except for the angry twitch at the corner of her lips. What she wouldn't give to get out of this cage, to teach this arrogant pup just who his better was. "Damn you, Julia." she growled mentally. Not that doing so was new to her, she's pretty much done it ever since she became the 'Disgraced' Weapons master, and locked in this freakin cage.

Terry sneered. He wasn't really a mean person, but when people annoyed him (like her stare was doing) he tended to get a little hot headed, "Bitch, if you keep looking at me like that I might take it personally."

G'nolga snorted, and only increased the hate passing through her glare.

by Philip Weigel

Theo frowned at the reports that he was given. He had to be called to an emergency conclave meeting. All around him the various mages were discussing how to find and capture or kill the "biggest threat to Jade since the Shadows" Were Smilodon. 'Fools, that's why he's doing what he's doing to you all.' He kept quiet though. It seemed that everyone and their grandma wanted to take out the Were Smilodon quickly.

"Theo?" His old teacher spoke up. "Is something wrong student? You haven't said a thing all night."

Everyone shut up and glanced at the Arch-Aura Mage.

Theo felt like screaming out in frustration at the antics his fellow council members were showing. "Let me tell you something." Everyone nodded. "On Earth, if an animal is cornered, wounded and scared, it will fight back with all its might and then some. It will do whatever it takes to survive. One time I saw a cat, cornered by a pit bull, a type of dog, rip the dog's face off. When the cat stopped, the dog's face had to be put in bandages for a while."

Theo took a deep breath. "While I can see why people are afraid of him, to actually hunt down a Were Smilodon goes against everything that I've ever stood for."

Bugie spoke up. "Theo, we've been friends for a long time. But if you knew what the archives said about what the Were Smilodon can do, you'd try and get rid of him too."

Theo rubbed his forehead. "Be that as it may Bugie, all we have done since he has gotten here was hunt him down. How would you feel if you were being threatened in such a way?"

Bugie shook his head. "I wouldn't like it Theo. I would be willing to call off the bounty on the Were Smilodon, if it wasn't for the fact that he's kidnapped three people, including busting a criminal out of jail that has a grudge against your family. AND, don't forget that he's defeated Weapons Master Tsunami. You all know that he is one of the most LETHAL Weapons Masters of all of Jade. The fact that there was only a little blood that wasn't his on the ground suggests that this Were Smilodon is VERY dangerous to the populous."

Theo groaned, he knew where this was going. "So you can see Theo, while we all respect your ideals, it has no place here. We have to do what's best for the populous at large."

by Matdeception

Tanya examined the village with an annoyed frown. While the village of Trine was much bigger then the Hamlet of Trill, by at least twice its size, possibly even three times, it seemed just about exciting as the hamlet. The center of the village consisted of a small stone fountain that didn't work, surrounded by cobblestone walkways with wood and stone buildings popping up occasionally in a circular pattern, all of which was centered on that fountain. Various tents were also set up in that clearing, Tanya assumed it was a marketplace of some type.

"Maybe I can get something..." Tanya grumbled mentally. God, how she hated 'That time of the month'. She didn't put much hope into finding a tampon available there, or maybe a bottle of Midol, she was never that lucky.

"Ranma? Why would they bring G'nolga here? I mean, it's pretty much an out of the way hole in the wall." Tanya asked, following her mutual companion in suffering.

"Eh.." Ranma shrugged, "Bout a mile or so west of here you'll find the biggest public fishing port available on this side of the Continent." he hmmed, "Prolly the only means for normal people to travel to the Western continent anyway, since the gap in-between here and there isn't so big as it is anywhere else."

"What about the.. what was that place? The main guard?"

Ranma shrugged, pulling out a long piece of grass before popping on end into his mouth to chew on, "Main Guard's pretty much your average military establishment. Navy, army all in one little package. Well, maybe in part. I can't really tell yah, my life here ain't exactly given me luxury of touring the place much." Hmm, they should arrive at just under an hour. Good, more than enough time to explain things to Tanya.

"Tanya.." Ranma began, giving the woman a quick glance before returning his sight to the growing city in the distance. "When we get to the city, I need yah to be very very careful who you talk too, in fact.. I don't think you should let anyone actually see none of yah either."

"This has something to do with breaking me out of Sanctuary?" Tanya asked, amused. She pretty much knew what she could and couldn't do, but the guy liked to worry about things needlessly. His own way of getting rid of nervous tensions and the like.

"Well, yeah. Yeah see, I took a boat from Trill to get you. Most people would think it smarter to take one from Trine, since it's a helluva lot closer to Neik island. I'm pretty sure they were waiting for us to return to the port there, since it's one of the few places you can actually land a boat on this side of the island without worrying about the Dark zone or some kind a man eating monster." Ranma explained, "So it's possible the place is in on even higher alert for us, even with G'nolga being there. Wouldn't put it past no one to lay a trap for us."

"Eh.. right." Tanya allowed, pulling her cloak tightly around her petite form. "Are you really sure about this?" she bit her lip nervously, not that he noticed under her heavy cloak and with his back turned, "G'nolga may just tell you to go to hell, or even try to take you down herself."

Ranma shrugged, "Maybe." he allowed.

"That's it? Don't you even have a plan?" Tanya snarled.

"Eer, yeah!" he chuckled nervously; scratching the back of his head in a way Tanya was quickly coming to realize was a nervous habit. "Look. It'll work out. Trust me." he flashed her a confident smile in hopes of calming her some.

Tanya wouldn't have it. "Sure sure. So I suppose you plan to walk in, beat up the guards, and somehow convince G'nolga to side with you with absolutely no leverage other than your word to help her get revenge against the Diggers." she said bitterly, "Yep, with a plan like that, nothing can go wrong!" she finished in a sarcastic wit.

Needless to say, Ranma didn't detect anything wrong with the plan. "Sure! Man, wish I thought of that!" he nodded, smacking his fist into the palm of his hand. "Sounds like a plan!"

Tanya would have groaned, but her face was getting an up front personal view of mud.

by Philip Weigel

An hour later, Ranma and Tanya walked into Trine. "Well, let's look around first. Maybe there's some information on Granola or whatever her name is."

"G'Nolga."

"Right, right. Anyway, let's head to the marketplace. We're sure to hear SOMETHING about G'Nolga there if she's in town."

Tanya nodded, and clutched her shawl tightly, hoping that no one took notice of them.

She really didn't have to worry, for no one paid them any attention, figuring them to be a couple of no name travellers.

While they were passing, they heard people talking, but one conversation got their attention. "Hey, you know Weapons Master G'Nolga's in town?"

"Yeah, but I also heard that these two women were stealing something important and are now in prison as well."

"Really? What do they look like?"

"They were the strangest ladies. Wore identical outfits but in different colors."

"One had long violet hair and her clothes were in different shades of violet."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And her skin was the palest tone."

"Wow. What about the other one?"

"The other one's clothing was in oranges and yellows. She had short brown hair and tanned skin."

"I see. Hmm, what were they stealing?"

"Don't know. I think food or something from a rich guy."

"They said they were, 'starving'."

"For what?"

"Who knows?"

"Where are they at?"

"From what I understand, they're all at the local jailhouse. Ain't nobody stupid or crazy enough to go into there."

Ranma smirked. 'Yeah right.' He turned to Tanya and whispered. "You heard that right?"

Tanya nodded. "Yep. So, when do we make our move?"

Ranma led her away from the crowds. "Tonight."

Beside him Tanya nodded.

(-)

Hanza stood by the prison. 'God dang it! I just wish that Smilodon would hurry it up.'

by Matdeception

Ranma was beginning to rethink his stupidity as night began to set. He and Tanya had set up for the time being in an Inn directly across the Jailhouse. He was currently watching it through the window, bored out of his mind, as Tanya slept.

He had been a little tired also, but wisely refrained from asking Tanya for the first nap. She had been bitchy all day for some reason, whenever he asked she would say something stupid like, "Let's see if you like bleeding all over the place!" and "I feel bloated! Leave me the hell alone!" and his favorite, "You fucking bastard! You have no idea what it feels like to be a woman!"

... "If only she knew." he thought with a bitter snort, before pushing the woman from his mind. While she was important, just how he hadn't figured out yet, to his plans at revenge for the Armsmaster, she was also pretty much useless for the time being.

Back to the Jailhouse. He held no illusions that he couldn't sneak in the place without raising a fuss. Sneaking out on the other hand held problems all their own. Watching the place for the majority of the day, he managed to guess just how many guards were in the place. Well, at least he knew how many were there at the very least, since he couldn't figure out if the place held the living quarters of the Guard as well as the Jail cells.

"Pfeh. Ten. Twenty. It's just a challenge!" he thought with a bemused smirk, before contemplating other problems with the situation. Chances are that even if he managed to break out of Jail with, or without G'nolga, some type of fuss or Alarm would be triggered. While he was decently sure he could escape with the Umi-sen-ken, he didn't think he could keep the invisible field up around Tanya as well, not too mention G'nolga if she decided to join, for as long as it took to escape the town. He didn't think they would be able to hide in the town anyway. It wasn't that big, and he guessed these cops would search the town out first once they discovered what happened.

Which meant he had to plan an escape of some sort. Great, more thinking. Not something he enjoyed by any stretch of imagination. God, this was getting hard.

Four hours later.

Ranma snapped to attention as a thought came to mind. "Eureka! I got it!" he grinned, nodding with himself. It was so devilishly simple! Why, he couldn't think of any reason for it not to work!

Moving up to the slumbering Tanya, he began shaking her. "Yo! Tanya! Wake up!" he whispered harshly.

Tanya wasn't the most graceful of early birds, not by a long shot. So shooting the bastard who dared disturbed her beauty sleep a glare, she growled bitterly, "What now?" Ranma's aura of obliviousness shielded him from noting her glare or her tone of voice.

"It's time! I got the perfect plan!" he crowed, walking up to the window as he grinned at the building across from them.

Sitting up, she tried to ignore the bloating pain around her abdomen, once again cursing males in general for not having to feel this type of pain. "Oh good. So what does the fearless leader have in mind?"

"Well.." he chuckled, "I'm going to sneak in there. Beat up the guards, then sneak out with G'nolga!" he made it sound like it was the simplest thing to do in the world. It was then he decided to lay his plan for escaping the city down, "While I'm doing that, you're going to find us some horses or somethin, so we can escape quickly." Yeah, shoving the responsibility on someone else. Wonderful plan, at least he thought so.

"Eh.. sure." Tanya shrugged, not really paying attention.

"All right! I'll head on over there now then." Ranma said as he opened the window. Summoning on the knowledge of his birth rite, he shimmered from view before jumping out the window, shifting to Hybrid form on his way down.

It took Tanya a whole five minutes to realize Ranma was being serious about this, and she rushed from the room with one thought on her mind. "Idiot."

Hanza was tired. Very much so. The last time she slept was over two days ago, and at the moment she was nearing her wits end. So far, not one inkling of the smilodon's presence could be detected and she was already past the point of caring.

Debating whether or not to risk recognition by going to the Inn, she decided on the next best thing. Sneaking up to a wagon across from the Jailhouse, she jumped inside. The owners weren't going to be leaving for a few hours, or so she thought, so it wouldn't be a big deal if she caught a few winks of sleep here.

Grabbing a tarp, Hanza settled down with her BAS by her side, almost instantly drifting off to sleep surrounded by boxes, barrels, and bags of produce.

Ranma eased himself down the windowsill, taking the utmost caution not to make a single solitary noise as he infiltrated the building from an open window on the second floor.

He had debated whether or not going through the front door was a good idea or not, but decided against it in the end. If a guard was on the other side of that door, he or she would probably be a tad curious how the heck the door opened up all by itself anyway. At least this way, he would have some medium of surprise should this infiltration turn to more violent matters.

Quickly examining the room, Ranma was happy to find it empty except for an empty bed and dresser. Tip toeing to the door, he carefully opened it and snuck out into the hallway.

The light in the hallway was pretty much nil, making it a tad difficult to navigate towards the stairs. He still managed to do it without making so much as a single peep.

Descending the staircase, he found himself in what he assumed was the main lobby. The room wasn't very big, maybe forty feet by twenty feet. The furnishings were sparse, a few tables, chairs, and a large desk at the entrance where a human looked to be sleeping.

Looking up at the roof, Ranma couldn't stop from grimacing. This building was apparently very old and in some short of disrepair. Even from where he was standing, he could see much of the support beams holding the roof above their heads were cracked, and almost rotting. Heck, the only reason it hadn't even fallen to the ground yet was because the main support beams were being held in place by a pillar of stone that erupted from the ground near the center of the room.

There were only four possible exits from this chamber. The stairs he had just descended led to what he could only assume as living quarters for who ever worked here, the door he assumed led to the street, and two hallways on the opposite side of the room from where the entrance was.

Shrugging, Ranma picked one at random and began searching for G'Nolga.

Hanza grimaced, "Rook.. you bastard." she mumbled, "Keep your hands off my chest.."

She was dreaming. Well, having a Nightmare really.

"What's the world coming too Tanya old girl? You've been spurned by the one you love because of a bimbo, the world seems to hate the fact you even exist, and you allowed yourself to ally with perhaps one of the most wanted criminals in the entire dimension. Oh, and it doesn't help matters he's an idiot." Tanya grumbled mentally as she tried to find something to use as a means of escape.

She could just teleport them all somewhere, but that would leave her heavily drained and there's no telling if the bastards from Sanctuary or the Conclave could track her or not. Of course, being 'That time of the month', the point was moot anyway. Not that she didn't have the power to cast her spells, it's just the pain of actually casting them with the disturbance in her body would likely throw her into a coma, if not out right kill her. Well, if she used any high level spells anyway.

"No, teleportation is out of the question." She decided. It wouldn't do her or anyone else any good if she died while performing the spell, and if they had a way to track her casting she doubt Ranma or G'nolga, if she decided to come along, would react kindly to being surrounded by a legion of mages all out for their ass.

She briefly considered taking a boat, but decided against it. The Main Guard was only about fifty or so miles to the south, and if Ranma was right about it being a military institution, then it wouldn't be unbelievable for them to have faster ships then the ones available here.

That left Gremlaks, a Jaden version of the camel of earth, and of course horses. Gremlaks would be able to handle Seer's desert better than any horse would, since they were practically designed to transverse the desert. Problem however was their speed, which was incredibly slow even when prompted into a full run. They also tended to be stubborn creatures, and in this town they were extremely well guarded since they were the preferred choice of travel until one crossed the desert into the forest towards the East.

So that pretty much whittled her choices down to horses. Horses were common pretty much all over Jade, well.. common anywhere but here. The only horses she could find were attached to a wagon of sorts in front of the Inn. Which meant the moment she tried to commandeer them some one from the Inn would likely see her through the window.

"Well.. Ranma never did say their escape had to be quiet, did he?" she thought with an amused chuckle. She just had to wait until Ranma emerged with, or without G'nolga, then they could hijack the horses and the wagon and escape to where ever the heck Ranma had planned to go.

G'nolga glared at the bastard Terry from her cell. She'd likely glare at the women in the cell over, if the wall wasn't in the way. Why won't they ever shut the hell up!?

Six sniffed, rubbing her nose sadly. "It's not my fault." she said meekly, unwilling to meet the gaze of the older woman.

Thirty Eight, or Jane as she liked to be called simply snorted before responding bitterly, "Six, it's always your fault!"

"WAH! THIRTY-EIGHT! YOU'RE SO MEAN TO ME!"

G'nolga swore. If these damn dwarven manacles weren't holding her down, she'd break out of jail just to shut that whiner up!

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

Terry snapped awake at the sound, before stretching back and yawning tiredly. He stood up, the sound of his keys jingling on his belt was ignored by all save the two similarly dressed women, who eyed the keys with a hunger Terry had long since grown to ignore.

Opening the door, Terry sighed, "What is it..." he blinked. No one was there. Stepping out into the hall curiously, he looked around but neither found hide nor hare of the culprit. He shrugged, making a mental note to kick Alexander in the balls for joking around like he did, then shut the door.

He turned around to give the prisoners a quick examination when he suddenly found himself choking; some unseen hand had grabbed him roughly by the neck and was now lifting him in the air.

G'nolga raised an eyebrow as she saw that, but said nothing. Cool as a cucumber.

The two annoying women were wide-eyed as well at the sight. "What the heck is going on? You think Faunty is coming to save us?"

Thirty-Eight didn't even bother reprimanding the girl for her stupidity as she watched the sight of a man seeming to hover in mid air, his face turning an interesting shade of purple as something choked him. Faunty couldn't save them, still being cursed to remain on earth. Maybe he had sent some help? No, he couldn't have realized they were captured so soon.

Ranma was not so pleasantly surprised to find the back of the building a flurry of activity. Five to Eight different were's were busy filling out paperwork, inspecting documents, and generally doing things that was only natural for them to do.

Still, after carefully examining the area, he realized he hadn't yet found the jail cells yet. So, making a note to be extremely careful coming back this way, he continued in search of his prey.

It wasn't until he came to a large oaken door at the end of the hall that he realized this is the place he needed to be. No, it wasn't some sixth sense or something, had nothing to do with feeling auras and the like, nor was it some divine knowledge that had suddenly been stuck in his head.

What caused him to believe this was the place? Well.. the sign that said "Jail Cells located here. Knock before entering." helped immensely. Looking back down the hallway from where he came and seeing no one, he turned to the door and knocked three times.

Ranma sneered as the man closed the door, lashing out with an open fist he grabbed the poor peace officer by the throat and lifted him off the ground, choking him. When the pitiful excuse for an officer lost consciousness, he allowed the aura of invisibility to fade and he dropped the man to the ground in an unsightly heap.

Turning to face the cells, he took stock of the prisoners. Two were just as the rumors said, rather attractive petty thieves caught for stealing food from a noble. The other looked exactly like the dwarf he had met when he busted Tanya out of sanctuary, a rather muscular woman that stood to a height of four, nearly five feet in height. She had long brown hair held back in a ponytail, and was currently glaring at him hatefully.

"Granola!" he began, ignoring the two women in preference to the dwarf.

'Granola' snarled, breaking her silence to say, "That's G'nolga you bastard!" she seethed. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, besides that bitch Julia, it was people butchering her god given name!

"Granola, G'nolga, whatever." Ranma shrugged, "Tomato, Tamato." he walked up to her cell, stopping a foot or so away from the bars. "Look.." he began, only to get interrupted by the two women in the other cell.

"PLEASE! TELL US FAUNTY SENT YOU!" Six pleaded, vainly trying to grab onto him from her cell. She didn't want to spend one more minute locked up in this hole.

Thirty-Eight smacked Six in the back of the head, harshly reprimanding the girl, "You idiot! Look at him! He's a guy! Faunty doesn't employ guys! That whole penis envy he picked up on Earth! Remember?!"

Six blinked, tapping her chin thoughtfully, "Oh.. right." her gaze lowered down from Ranma's face to his pants. She stared for a moment, and then nodded, "You're right. He's bigger than Faunty... so Faunty wouldn't have hired him."

Ranma sweatdropped, thankful he had fur covering his blush. "Ah.. right."

G'nolga rolled her eyes. Those two women sounded like such sluts. "You're the Were-smilodon, aren't you." she accused, glaring at him.

"Yah heard of me, huh?" he shrugged, "Guess you would. Since it was you and the rest of yer buddies and the Armsmaster that sent all those Death Squads after me."

G'nolga blinked, before bitterly retorting, "Yeah, right. I've been in jail for over a year now. Yep, guess I sent those squads after you from all the way in here."

Ranma chuckled, scratching the back of his head before shaking off his nervousness, "Eh, sorry." he coughed, "Look. G'nolga. I'm here to offer you a deal."

"What deal?" She said with a frown.

"Well, I heard you hate the Armsmaster as much as I do. I'll bust you out of here, if yah help me take the Armsmaster down."

G'nolga was quick to reply, "No."

Ranma blinked, then nodded, "Okay."

He turned around to walk away, fully intending to leave G'nolga in her cell and sneak out of here undetected.

"Wait." G'nolga began.

Looking back over his shoulder, Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"Kid, you do understand why I said I wouldn't help you take that bitch down, don't you?"

He shrugged, "Not really."

"Pfeh. Kids." she groaned, shaking her head irritably, "I've fought with her time and time again. Each time I joined up with someone like you, they'd want to take her down their own way. Cheating, kidnapping. Nothing was below them." she sighed, "All I want is to fight Julia. One fair, clean fight to decide who really is the best of the best."

Ranma nodded slowly, "Eh.. okay. I didn't know it was that kind of thing you two had going." he went silent for a moment, thinking, "Well. I don't mind how she goes down. If you don't mind doing some sneaky things to get the Armsmaster to agree to the fight, I sure as heck don't mind helping to set up a fair clean fight between the two of yah."

"Deal." G'nolga said suddenly. The chance to fight the Armsmaster was being offered to her! The chance to fight a fair and clean fight with her arch nemesis was the price tag for her help! Well, she'll be damned to pass something like that up!

Ranma nodded reaching for the forgotten Guards key chain.

Samantha yawned, pushing herself away from her desk. Standing up, she smoothed down her cloth birches some before turning away to her finished stack of paperwork.

Alexander looked up for his desk, giving the human form jagwere a curious glance.

"My watch. Terry's overdue for a change of shift." she shrugged, moving out of the room towards the cell area and completely missing Alexander's nod of understanding.

Samantha was bored bored bored. Oh sure, when she found out they would be guarding the Disgraced Weapon Master until a guard unit from Main Guard would escort her to her destination, she had been reasonably excited. The chance to guard such a celebrity, even if she was kind of on everyone's shit list. The excitement didn't last very long, in fact it became a bore rather quickly all things considered.

Samantha shook herself from these thoughts, her eyes widening in surprise as she came face to fist with a creature from everyone's Nightmares.

Ranma snorted, pushing the downed woman away as he sped through the hall, G'nolga and the two women he had let go out of spite for the law following him. Stopping just before the turn off where he had last seen a bunch of Edge Guards doing paperwork, he leaned over to G'nolga and whispered. "Keep going. There should be someone outside waiting to get us the heck out of dodge. I'll distract these goons and catch up with you."

G'nolga nodded, running past Ranma with the two women in tow. The action caused several of the Edge Guard to jump up in surprise, ready to give chase. Ranma smirked, stepping out into view with a vicious snarl on his lips. "Let's play."

Tanya was getting impatient. Almost an hour had passed since Ranma had disappeared, and she felt her worry growing each and every painful second that passed without some sign of her partner in crime.

The town was pretty much dead, anyone who was anyone had long since retired to their beds, resting for the trials and tribulations the next day would bring. Aside from a few drunks in the local tavern, all was quiet. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

"Come on, come on!' she whispered irritated, rubbing her arms to get some warmth back into her limbs.

*CRASH*

A human body exploded out the door of the jailhouse, crashing and skipping across the cobblestone street before stilling in the street.

Tanya didn't even take a moment to stare at the forms emerging from the house, immediately moving towards the horses and wagon. Unwrapping the reigns, she quickly jumped up into the driver's seat before shouting, "G'NOLGA! RANMA! OVER HERE!" she didn't see the man, but she could see G'nolga and two other figures moving in a beeline towards her.

Ranma ducked as a silver plated kodachi type weapon flittered overhead, countering the weird fox's attack with a brutal punch to his gut. The force of the blow flung him back towards his comrades, and like a bowling ball striking pins, knocked them all down.

Retreating down the all as fast as he could, he had to dodge bolts of fractured light and silver tipped arrows while occasionally stopping to punt another guard down the hall that had managed to catch up to him.

He emerged into the main room, not even breathing hard yet. The sounds of the guards approaching down the hall were getting louder and louder. "Damn, I need to find some way to stop them." he grumbled, looking around the room for anything that might impede their pursuit.

*SWIIIIISH*

"Shit!" Ranma shouted, ducking a hail of silver arrows as quick as he could. While most missed him entirely, two managed to pierce him through the shoulder and one in the leg. He ignored the pain as he back flipped through the room, stopping right next to the stone pillar he had seen earlier. "Kachuu houju satsu" he shouted, wrapping his arms around the support column with enough force to shatter it as if he was ripping apart an aluminum can.

The pillar fell, it's base destroyed by Ranma's Umi-sen-ken attack. Ranma turned and began sprinting for the exit, ignoring the painful arrow lodged in his leg as the roof began to tremble. The roof collapsing into itself as the rotted support beams gave way.

"Move it!" G'nolga roared, grabbing the two struggling women and throwing them on the wagon as it began to pick up speed. Running along side, she timed her jump just right to land next to the driver with a grunt.

The driver spare her a glance, "Where's Ranma?!"

"That cat's busy covering our escape.." G'nolga managed to bite out before a loud crashing rumble erupted behind her.

Sparing a glance back, she nearly giggled at the sight of the Jailhouse collapsing in on itself. She didn't miss the figure that had managed to clear ground Zero before getting trapped beneath the tons of broken wood and roof tiles. Even now the figure was struggling to catch up to them, and G'nolga noticed he was limping badly.

"Don't you dare slow down!" G'nolga hissed, jumping towards the back of the wagon. She idly noticed they were one body too many back here, but just didn't have the time to give a damn at the moment Grabbing it's side for support, she leaned out as far as she could with her hand. "JUMP! GRAB MY HAND!" she shouted

The were-smilodon that had freed her from prison didn't even hesitate, lunging for all he was worth. Even still, he just barely managed to catch the dwarf's hand, G'nolga grunted as her arm strained to its breaking point from the force of suddenly pulling the creature along with the wagon, her fingers digging deep into the wood she had grabbed to stabilize herself.

Hauling the figure up, she allowed herself to collapse backwards in relief. They had made it.

Ranma grunted. Running with a wounded leg had not been much fun. Nodding to the dwarf, and ignoring the two women.. oh wait, make that three, though the third was unconscious for some reason, he grabbing the arrow from his leg and ripped it out, followed by the one in his shoulder.

He spared the silver arrowheads a moment of interest, before dropping the bolts to the bottom of the wagon.

G'nolga goggled as she picked up one of the fallen arrow bolts. "Silver! Shit!"

Ranma shrugged, moving up to the front, "What's the big deal?" he asked, motioning to his already healed leg and shoulder, "Don't know why everyone thinks that stuff bothers me." he shrugged again to prove his point, before ignoring the dwarf as she stared at him wide eyed.

"Tanya!" he hissed to the driver. The woman glared back at him, before smacking him in the back of the head, hard. "Don't you ever worry me like that again! Asshole!"

Ranma looked a tad bit sheepish, but nodded, "Err, yeah. Sorry. Look, head straight until you hit the ocean. Then keep the ocean on your left and keep riding north."

"What's north of here?" Tanya asked, sparing her friend a curious glance.

"The land of Fear, and Death's Domain." he grumbled, "I know what I'm doing. Trust me." he flashed her another of his charming smiles.

Tanya suddenly had the urge to crash the wagon into the fucking ocean.

by Red Priest of the 17th Order

As Tanya stayed course with driving the horse-drawn cart, Ranma sat back, groaning a little. He was healing all right, but there was no doubt. At the moment, he hurt. Hurt a lot. "Damn. Can't believe they actually hit me. Damn confined areas," Ranma grumbled irritably. He knew he could have done this easier, had he not had to deal with very little room to try and fight back against the Edge Guard of Trinc, er, Trine! (Damn local maps that make c's look like e's and visa-versa.)

However, as soon as Ranma was sitting back, he heard a familiar voice call out to him. "Uh, excuse me, Mr. Smilodon, sir?" Turning his head, Ranma saw it was the tanned brunette talking. "Thank you for saving us from those mean people."

Snorting, Thirty-Eight rolled her eyes. "You're such a suck-up, Six."

Blinking his eyes once, twice, Ranma stared at the girl. He really wasn't used to people saying, 'thank you'. "Uh, you're welcome."

Silence reigned among the group for a few uncomfortable moments. Ranma was never one to like silence in situations like this. "Say," Ranma began, as he looked at the two he hadn't intended to spring from their cells. "Are you two from around here?"

"Yes," Six said. "We're both native to Jade. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you're certainly not dressed like you're from Jade," Ranma said. "In fact, I might even guess you're from Earth."

"Well, we were staying there the past three years," Six started. "With our husband."

Raising an eyebrow, Ranma asked, "Don't you mean 'husbands'?"

"No," Six said. "We're both married to the same man."

As his eye twitched for a moment, Ranma would have sworn, Tanya swerved the cart for a moment before straightening it back onto course. Ranma noticed that G'nolga didn't seem surprised at all. "Uh, Six?"

"Yes, Mr. Smilodon, sir?" Six asked rather innocently.

"Ranma," Ranma said. "Call me, 'Ranma'."

"Okay, Ranma," Six corrected herself.

Ranma noticed G'nolga snort, and the one known as Thirty-Eight roll her eyes in disgust, but he ignored it. "Say, what the heck did you do to get arrested?"

"Well, it began with Thirty-Eight and I getting here and-" Six tried before getting whapped on the back of the head. "OW! Thirty-Eight, what'd you do that for!?"

Growling, Thirty-Eight said, "First off, Six, even though he saved us, we shouldn't just blab our story," a serious look came over Thirty-Eight's face. "And second, DON'T CALL ME THAT! Call me, 'Jane'!"

"Sorry, Thirty-Eight," Six apologized, causing the purple-tressed woman to slap herself on the face in aggravation.

Smirking at the sight, Ranma couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, look at it this way. I sprung you outta jail, and I could just easily drop you too off right here and now, and let the authorities catch up with you."

"WAH! NO, PLEASE!" Six cried out. "I'll talk, I'll talk, I'LL TALK!"

Groaning, Thirty-Eight mumbled, "Stupid stool-pigeon."

Forcing himself to keep a straight face in front of the antics of these two women, he asked, "Okay, explain from the top, please."

"All right," Six began. "Well, our husband Master Duke Elliot Fauntleroy is a Golden Dragon... Or rather, was until he was locked in human form and cursed from being able to return to Jade."

"Wait, wait!" G'nolga interrupted. "You two are married to Fauntleroy? As in the QUESTING DRAGON Fauntleroy?"

"The very same," Six chirped happily. "Anyway, those meanies of the Conclave, specifically, that tight-wad Balthazar cursed poor master Fauntleroy, and made it impossible for him to return. When he lost his power, he lost almost all of his wives, except me and Thirty-Eight."

"JANE!" Thirty, er, 'Jane' added irritably, her arms crossed underneath her breasts.

"All right," Ranma mumbled. "And how many wives did he have?"

"Oh, fifty," Six answered helpfully.

*THUD*!

Ranma would have groaned if his face wasn't implanted in the floorboard of the cart. "Fifty!?" Ranma thought in shock. "Kami-sama, the man's a bigger pervert than Happosai!"

Pulling himself out of his face-fault, Ranma looked over to the driver. "Hey, Tanya! Keep this thing on course already!"

Getting up from her own face-fault, Tanya leveled a glare at Ranma, which quickly shut the were smilodon up.

Leaning over to Thirty-Eight, Six asked, "Is this normal for humanoids?"

"Yes," was all Thir-JANE said.

Collecting his thoughts, Ranma said, "All right. Enough of this; never mind the full story, just tell me why you were here, and why you were arrested."

"All right," Six said. "Well, master Fauntleroy managed to get a piece of the Mymior that had belonged to the dreaded "Dreadwing, the Iron Fist. He used the power from that to turn us into adult dragons."

"You're dragons?" Ranma asked curiously, the wheels turning in his head. Ay seeing the nod from both, Ranma asked, "Okay. Well, why were you arrested?"

"Now that we are dragons, master Fauntleroy sent us back to Jade to try and steal some magical items," Six whimpered. "Only we kinda screwed up."

"Kinda?" Thirty-Eight repeated. "Kinda!? YOU MISCAST THE SPELL, LOST THE DAMN GEM OF RETURN TO GET US HOME, AND GOT US LOST IN THIS WORLD FOR OVER A WEEK!" At Six's crying, Thirty-Eight rolled her eyes. "I swear, you're such a baby sometime!"

Ranma rolled his eyes and looked at Thirty-Eight. "Just stop stalling and tell me what you did?"

"All right," Thirty-Eight said, leveling her own glare at Six, "SINCE SOMEONE CAN'T STOP CRYING!" At Six's sniffling, Thirty-Eight looked at Ranma. "We were lost. We found a mansion. We broke in, stole some food, ate..." Thirty-Eight trailed off and winced. "And found out the lord of that house had quite the goon-squad underneath his thumb. We were beaten down and tossed in jail faster than we could tell."

Ranma nodded his head. Yep, they were arrested for a stupid reason. "One more question. Do you hate the Armsmaster and Weapons Masters?"

"YES!" was the unanimous cry from Thirty-Eight and Six."

Smiling, Ranma said, "Welcome aboard."

"Grooooooaaaan..." Came the noise of someone, well, groaning, as something underneath the tap moved. Ranma moved himself to the ready, prepared to fight off anything.

And then the tarp was thrown off, revealing... Wow, that was one bruised mess.

"Stupid drivers," the big bruise grumbled while rubbing it's purple jaw. "Practically crushed my head underneath a barrel.

While the majority of those there were confused at the sight, G'nolga recognized the form vaguely. "Hanza?"

Blinking her eyes, the bruise looked up at G'nolga. "G'nolga? Hey! It is you!"

Looking between the newcomer and G'nolga, Ranma asked, "You two know each other?"

"We've worked together," G'nolga said quickly. "So Hanza, what happened. I thought you were in prison."

Smirking, (or rather TRYING to smirk) Hanza stared at G'nolga confidently. "I let myself out on good behavior." Hanza then frowned. "Now drop me off, I need to get back to Trine!"

"Why?" Ranma asked.

"Because," Hanza started, rounding on the source of the male voice, "I need to find...the...were smilodon?" Hanza finished pathetically as he gave told her she was looking at what she sought out. "You're the were smilodon?"

"Mmmyep!" Ranma said in all seriousness. Staring at her, he asked, "You a bounty hunter after my head or something?"

"Probably not," G'nolga answered. "She's just a greedy mercenary."

Hanza snorted at that, but didn't correct the disgraced Weapons Master. Looking at Ranma she said, "Listen, I'm working for a man called 'Rook'. He really wants to meet you."

Looking at Hanza seriously, he asked, "He hates the Armsmaster too, huh?"

"Without the shadow of a doubt," Hanza answered honestly. Lord knows she heard the undead asshole harp on about it time and again, on and on. It made her want to tear off his mandible and toss it to the guard-dogs to use as a chew-toy.

Ranma smiled. "As tantalizing as that sounds, I think this group might be getting to big to travel about and-"

"Just go and visit," G'nolga said. "I've worked with the idiot before. He's not too bad. He's better supplied than a lot of the people in the Death's Domain."

"He is?" Ranma asked.

"Indeed," G'nolga answered. "We're heading out towards that way anyway, plus his castle will give us a place to hide for a couple of days."

Nodding his head, Ranma answered, "All right. I'll see what this guy wants." Looking towards Tanya, Ranma said, "You hear that Tanya? When we reach Death's Domain, keep going until we find this Rook-guy's place."

"I heard the first time," Tanya grumbled. She hoped they got there soon. She REALLY needed to find a rest-stop or something. "Stupid time of the month!"

While Ranma and his rag tag band of losers.. eer.. Anti-heroes were making their way through the Land of Fear on their way to Rook's castle, things were happening in the Earth Realm.

Brittany pushed against the cold earth, her muscles straining as she forced herself to do one more god-awful pushup.

"498." she grunted, before lowering herself for another push up.

Life hadn't been too bad for the were-cheetah, despite a certain situation nearly nine months ago that she had pretty much for the most part put behind her. She had finally given birth to her loving baby girl Tiffany, and despite the rather painful birth (Due to the baby being a Kryn mix), she was in relative high spirits. At the moment, she was retraining her body to work off all the excess body fat she had gained due to her pregnancy.

"499." she snarled painfully, her arms feeling like dead weights. She didn't give up, and went down for one last push up.

There hadn't been one weird event in her life since that bitch Tanya had tried to kill her and her baby, and for that she was glad. Really really glad. To enjoy the peaceful life, no matter how short they generally lasted, was something she always enjoyed to the fullest.

"500." she pushed herself to her knees, taking a moment to catch her breath.

"You okay honey?" the voice of her loving husband, Stripe, asked from the veranda. He was holding on their little baby and feeding her some formulae from a bottle.

Brittany smiled tiredly at the man of her dreams. How did she get so lucky as to land a guy like him? "Yeah muffin. Just tired."

"Come on inside. I'll cook you a special dinner to help you recover faster." Stripe winked, leaving Brittany to grin hungrily at the special 'dinner' her husband had in store for her.

A sudden flash of light in the yard pushed her thoughts to the fore, the sight of her mother and sister wasn't anything new, but the sight of a red-haired older woman in a kimono certainly wasn't an everyday occurrence. She was about to wave and say hello to them, when the unnamed woman asked.

"What? This doesn't look like Jade. Where are we, Digger-san?"

"Were at my house. We should be able to hitch a ride to Jade from my dad or his apprentice." Gina offered, before spying Brittany.

Julia nodded, seeing Brittany. It was only a matter of time before Nodoka noticed her daughter, which would undoubtedly cause her to.. ah, there she went.

"Is.. that Brittany?" She asked, looking at Gina briefly before staring at the were-cheetah currently on her knees catching her breath.

Brittany managed a tired smile, waving a bit at them as she answered the woman's question, "Yep, I'm Brittany. Who are you... WHAT!" she screeched as the woman suddenly shifted, gaining height, bust, and a cheetah colored fur coat as the change completed itself.

She was so stunned; she didn't even put up a token defense against the Hug of Death the woman initiated on her. "OH! YOU ARE SO KAWAII! Cyan and Xerves must be so proud of you where ever they are!" she gushed, hugging the girl as she twirled her about.

Brittany was struck with an odd sense of deja vu as the woman did that, specifically when Julia had been cured of her curse she had done the exact same thing. "Eh.. ah.. Cyan? You knew my mother?"

"Oh yes!" she gushed, putting the woman down before pinching her cheeks, "Oh! You look so much like her!"

"Ah.. thanks.. wait.. your a werecheetah?" Brit blinked, finally putting two and two together when this woman's looks. "I'm not alone?" she breathed, feeling a wave of relief was over her when the woman nodded. The woman opened her mouth to say something, but snapped it shut as a pained expression came over her features.

"Ah.. Brittany. There's something we need to talk about." Julia began, unsure how to explain the situation.

"Wait.. you mean that guy we saw on TV all those months ago is Mrs. Saotome's son?! And he's alive?" Brittany nearly shouted, but calmed down as Stripe squeezed her hand comfortingly.

Nodoka remained silent, though she did nod to the girl's question.

Gina didn't want any part of telling her sister about the situation on Jade, and thus gave Julia the "Don't look at me" look.

Julia sighed, but nodded, "Yes. And before you ask, yes he is alive. There is a.. situation on Jade at the moment, with that boy at the center."

"Eh? Like what?" Brittany was genuinely curious. It's not every day one finds out they are no longer the last of their kind, hell, aside from the day she married Stripe and gave birth to Tiffany, this was turning out as one of the better days in her entire chaotic life!

"My son is a mix, Brittany dear. Specifically, a mix between a werecheetah and a Sabertooth weretiger." Nodoka explained tersely, glaring at Julia.

Julia once again, ignored Nodoka's glare.

"Eh? Is he like that guy Gaja? You know, able to take the pure forms of his species, as well as a mixed form?" Brittany could feel the tension erupting between Julia and Nodoka, and she had no idea why. Glancing towards Gina told her she wasn't going to say a single thing.

"Yes." Julia nodded, "Only because of his smilodon - That's sabertooth were-tiger dear - he's currently.. unapproachable."

Nodoka snorted, "You mean to say he's been having to fight for his life against everyone on Jade because of some stupid childhood fear!" she finished in a snarl.

Brittany blinked, "Wha?"

Stripe blinked, "Hunted?"

Julia hesitantly nodded, "Yes, well. Ah, best I can explain this.. a were-smilodon is to Jade as the Boogeyman is to Earth. Well, if you take the general fear the boogeyman causes here, multiply by infinity and take it into the deepest depths of forever, then apply it to Jade.. ah.. you understand?"

Stripe could feel his wife tensing, she was already practically crushing his hand, "Ah.. wait. You're saying this.. Ranma has been in Jade this entire time. During which he has been hunted like a monster, pretty much hated by everyone there because he was born, and only now it's come to your attention this was happening?!"

Julia sighed, but nodded somewhat. "Yes and no. I knew about the were-smilodon threat, I didn't do anything because it wasn't my business. At the time I didn't know he was Mrs. Saotome son, or the boy who we all thought had died defending Tokyo from the Phoenix."

"How did you find out then?" Brit wasn't snarling, not per say, but you'd have to be blind and deaf to miss the undercurrents of anger and fear in her voice.

"Ah.. since someone told Ranma all he had to do to get peace was.. challenge and defeat me, and the other weapon masters." Julia finished.

Brit blinked, "Eh, will that even work?"

Julia shook her head in the negative.

"Then why would anyone tell him that?" Stripe asked stumped.

Nodoka grumbled, "It's either a ploy to get him to distract the weapon masters, or kill them out right. If you've had to fight for your life every day for nine months straight, never know why you were fighting like you were, wouldn't you jump at a chance to end it all?"

Brit nodded slowly. Being hunted was never a good thing. Heck, she's been hunted by people since she was born. Peewee, people who wanted her for a love interest, Tanya, the werewolves before she and Jetta became friends. "Can he do that? Kill any of the Weapon masters?"

Julia sighed, this time. "Your grandfather has already run into him. I don't know the specifics, but I know your grandfather lost to him. Anyone who could defeat Tsunami is most assuredly deadly."

Brit gulped, "Is Tsunami okay?"

"So I've heard.." Julia shrugged. Her father was a tough nut to crack.

A flash of light startled everyone from their conversation, and announced the arrival of Séance.

The apprentice didn't look too happy, in fact he looked extremely depressed. "Ah.. good." he said, noticing everyone who needed to be here was here. "I've come with some more distressing news concerning the Smilodon."

Julia stood up from her seat, "What's happened now?"

Séance chuckled, nervously pulling at the nape of his mage suit, "Ah. Well.. first. Tanya has escaped Sanctuary."

Brit hissed, Julia snarled, Gina said "Jinkies." and Stripe groaned. Nodoka just looked confused, since she had never heard of the woman.

"How? She was supposed to be under strict supervision!" Julia snapped.

"Ah.. well.. The.." Séance gulped, took a deep breath to calm himself, then answered, "The were-smilodon broke into Sanctuary in search of G'nolga. Failing to find her, he broke Tanya out because, and I quote .. "She hates the Armsmaster as much as he does."

Julia frowned, rubbing her forehead. "Well, he's smarter then I thought he was."

Nodoka drawled, "Yes, he is."

Brit sighed, "Great, our peaceful times are over."

Julia reached over and patted the young mother on the shoulder, "Don't worry, we'll catch her before she can come close to harming you or my granddaughter."

Brit smiled, "Thanks mom."

Séance coughed in his hand, "Yes, while it is distressing news, it's also not the only news."

Stripe sighed. Great, from bad news too possibly worse.

Julia motioned for him to continue.

"Ah. Yes. Nine hours ago, G'nolga escaped her prison in Trine before an escort from the Main Guard could bring her there." Seance grumbled.

"There's more.. isn't there?" Julia asked.

"Yes. G'nolga didn't escape alone. The were-smilodon attacked the Edge Guard base, managed to free G'nolga and the other prisoners held there, before tearing the entire building down with its bare hands." Séance sighed, "The guard remembered hearing something before passing out. Something about G'nolga's hate towards you."

"Great. Just great." Julia ranted, coming precariously close to letting loose with a torrent of bad words. "So, not only do we have to deal with whoever is manipulating Ranma, we also have to deal with the fact he's gather lots of pissed off powerful people who want nothing more then to see me, or my family, burned at the stake." Yep, today was just perfect.

"Ah.. that's not all, Mrs. Julia.."

"What now?" How could this get worse? She didn't see a way it could.

"The.. ah council, is requesting your assistance in destroying the beast." Séance whimpered. This wasn't something he wanted to report.

"..." Went Brit.

"..." Went Stripe.

"..." Went Gina, who idly wondered where Brianna or Genn were.

"I'll kill all of em! I'll rip off their heads and shit down their next! I'll rip off their balls and shove it up their ass!" Nodoka ranted.

"I assume they have already sequestered the other Weapon Masters into this little hunt?" Julia said, rubbing her temple in an attempt to fight off the headache she felt forming,

Séance nodded. "Karia and Lily are already enroute to Trine. The Shadow elf has refused out right. As has Leep. The hidden three... have yet to make their intentions clear.. and of course your Mother is on the prowl. She didn't take to well to the fact her husband god beat up."

"Well.." Julia grumbled. "I think its best we get to Jade and try to stop the conclave. It's already going to be hard enough just to get the boy to listen to us, we don't need any more people mucking around screwing things up."

"Right. Just give me a few moments to recover my strength, Julia. Then I'll be glad to take you to Durpan." Séance slumped into a free seat, resting.

"Seance?"

"Yes?"

"In what direction did the boy and G'nolga flee from Trine?"

"Ah, there were last seen heading due north towards the Land of Fear and Death's Domain."

"Ah, great." Julia snorted bitterly, "I'm willing to bet they're heading right for Rook."

Can this get any worse?

by Philip Weigel

"Look at that one!"

"I'd say that he looks better."

"Hmm, maybe..."

There was a compatible silence between the two of them.

"Brianna?"

"Yeah Genn?"

"Why are we at the pool, in bikinis?"

"To look at the cute guys."

"After spending THAT much at the porno store, you want to spend the rest of the day at the pool watching cute guys?!"

"Why not? And quit complaining. Just because Seance hasn't been around for you to get any from, you shouldn't complain to me about it."

The Raksasha grumbled slightly at that. She looked up. "Say Brianna?"

"Yeah Genn?"

"Why do we have to wear such SKIMPY bikinis?"

"To sunbathe."

"Okay. Um, there's some guys leering at us."

"So? Let them leer. They can get as much eye candy as they want."

Genn shook her head and tried to relax.

by Sect

Being undead, Rook could afford to have patience. After all, he didn't really have to go to school, nor work out, nor worry about his age; those were kinda unnecessary once a person had went to the great beyond (or just became a transparent illusion or a rotting bag of flesh, or, in some extreme cases, a completely new species).

However, the undead knight never really learned that; either that, or he didn't really feel like learning patience.

In fact, instead of just wandering around aimlessly like most ghouls and whatnot, he had actually composed a tune fit for a orchestra by just tapping on the wooden table that he had been sitting at for the past twenty-eight Addventure episodes. He never bothered remembering it, but the fact is...

... Well, the fact is that the writer of this episode is going to stop with the unnecessary fourth wall breaking and get on with the story.

Two things were frustrating Rook. First was his "subordinate",Hanza, who he had sent out months before to find the were smilodon. He was sure that the mercenary would have been able to find it by now; it was causing quite a stir with the infiltration of Sanctuary, and the defeat (and humiliation) of Weapons Master Tsunami. Oh sure, the conclave and Guards had tried to cover the events up, but even Rook's spy network wasn't THAT bad.

... Actually, Hanza wasn't foremost on his mind. Well, Hanza was right after her breasts in his rather perverted mind, but even they came after the next issue.

"Where the HELL is my magazine?" Rook growled in frustration.

Ah yes, Rook's beloved pornography. No man - alive or dead - could resist the allure of the bounty of flesh, especially female. Of course, it was best if the flesh was at least humanoid, but still, in Rook's mind, any man who could resist the rewards that the woman (or at least her pictures) was either homosexual or... well, homosexual.

Of course, at this point Rook had not yet Ranma, so he could be excused for being misguided as such.

Rook's... well, eyes would probably be the best nouns at this moment... directed themselves towards the heavy wooden door, from which a skeleton emerged, holding several flat objects in its hand. "Sir!" it shouted, saluting ala military fashion. "Spy reports from the south!"

If an eyebrow was visible on the knight, it would have raised. "Well, then, let's hear it," Rook commanded, facing towards the animate figure of bone.

The skeleton abruptly dropped its arm. Then, it sheepishly picked it back up from the ground. "There has been a jail break at Trinc!" it reported, standing straight at attention, waiting for its superior response.

It didn't really expect Rook's baffled reply of,"Trinc? Where the hell is that?"

The skeleton tried to blink several times, then forced itself to give up after it realized that he was lacking eyelids. It glanced down at a piece of paper it held, then looked back up. "Um... I meant Trine."

"Ah," Rook said. Then he looked hard at the skeleton. "That's where G'Nolga's being held," he stated.

"Yessir. Looks like the were smilodon was responsible. He took G'Nolga, as well as two petty thieves, for some unknown reason," it shrugged. Rook nodded knowingly. "Oh yeah, this came in," it added, holding out a plastic wrapped copy of...

"YES!" Rook crowded, snatching the magazine and holding over his head. "My latest issue of Elven Babes Gone Wild finally arrived!"

Dimly, the skeleton heard a faint electronic tune.

Rook brought down the magazine, ready to open it, when he found a rude surprise. "... Hey, it's already unsealed," he commented flatly, then turned towards the skeleton, whose teeth (and other bones) were rattling slightly.

"Aheh... about that..." the skeleton remarked nervously. "You see, the boys had gotten it from the postmaster, and we decided to take a little-" Any further excuse was chopped away, as well as the undead's head.

Rook snorted as he sheathed his sword. "How many times do I have to tell you numbskulls not to touch my porn? ESPECIALLY the ones with the girl-on-girl action specials?" he asked sarcastically, then slumped down in his chairs and proceeded to peruse the magazine. He then glanced at the skeleton. "What are you waiting for?"

"Oh, sorry," the skeleton responded as his body bent down to recover its decapitated head, then rushed out cradling the skull. It was very glad that Rook decided to be lenient, since he had gotten his elven girls, in paper form.

Ranma's group as Tanya forces them to take a stop.

by Philip Weigel

Looking at Ranma, G'Nolga FINALLY asked a question that was on her mind. "Just curious... How come you aren't affected by silver?"

Ranma shrugged. "Should I be?"

G'Nolga blinked at that answer and just stared at him blandly. 'Maybe it's a mental thing?' She idly thought. "I just asked because silver is supposed to burn Werecats."

For awhile, Ranma said nothing. "Sounds painful."

G'Nolga shrugged. "Should be. I wouldn't know."

Suddenly, the cart stopped, causing everyone to lurch forward a bit. Ranma turned to look at Tanya. "Why we stopping Tanya?"

Tanya was hunched forward, her eyes were closed and her teeth gritted as she held her stomach in pain. "Argh, oh shit this hurts."

Ranma blinked. "What's wrong?" His nose flared a bit as he picked up the smell of blood. "What the?"

"Ow... Shit!"

Ranma blinked curiously. "You okay?" She didn't LOOK okay, but then again, Ranma knew little to nothing about women.

G'Nolga, Six and Jane recognized what was going on. G'Nolga slapped her forehead. "Oh great."

"Shit! This hurts."

"Need anything?"

Tanya was silent for a bit. "Anyone... Anyone got a," She started to blush lightly as she was asking this in the presence of a male. "Tampon?"

G'Nolga shook her head. "Sorry." She felt bad for the girl, she really did.

Six spoke up. "Oh! I do!" She waved it in the air, and blinked as Tanya snatched it out of her hand.

"GIMME!"

The Kryn then rushed off to the bushes for a bit.

Ranma blinked. "What the heck?"

G'Nolga sighed. "Listen to me, right now, she's in a lot of pain okay?"

Ranma just nodded.

After a bit Tanya came back out, she looked at six and after a bit spoke. "Thank you."

Six nodded. "No problem."

G'Nolga looked at Tanya. "Feeling better now?" Tanya nodded and G'Nolga kicked Hanza. "You drive. Tanya can be in the back." G'Nolga would be damned if she let a fellow female have to suffer more than she already was while going through "that time of the month", Julia excluded.

Tanya looked at G'Nolga, the reports didn't say that she was this nice. "Um, thank you."

G'Nolga shrugged it off. "Don't mention it. And I mean it!"

Tanya nodded as she climbed into the back.

Hanza grumbled. "Why do I have to drive?"

Ranma smirked. "Because you're not in pain."

"YES I AM!"

"Um, how so?"

"Because of someone's LOUSY driving, I had my head crushed under a pickle barrel!"

Ranma's eye twitched. "Just get up there. I don't know how to handle a horse okay?"

Hanza groaned. "My back hurts."

Tanya spoke up. "So, who's going to drive?"

Suddenly the wagon lurched forward as it took off. Everyone blinked and looked up to see thirty, err Jane at the reigns.

The former Wyrm smirked. "Cry-babies." She then whipped the horses with the reigns so that the animals would go faster.

Ranma chuckled. "Like I said, I never used a horse before."

G'Nolga shrugged. "Don't look at me. I usually ate them."

Jane nodded. "Same here, but I do know how to handle them."

Hanza yawned. "I'm taking a nap. Wake me when we get there." With those words, she fell fast asleep.

Shortly afterward, Jane stopped the wagon. "Wait! WHY am I doing it THIS way?"

Six spoke up. "It might've been easier if I flew us."

The others in the back blinked at this.

Jane ndded. "That's just what I remembered too."

Ranma stared at Six incredulously. "You mean you could've flown us at ANY time?"

The woman nodded. "Yeah. I'm a Dragon. Specifically a flying Dragon."

G'Nolga sighed. "Figures that the whiner would be able to fly."

Six started to whimper when she heard that. "What's that supposed to meeeean? WAHHHHH!"

G'Nolga winced. "KNOCK IT OFF! I was just saying that most flying types cry more than non-flying types."

Six nodded, but was still sniffling. "Okay."

G'Nolga sighed. "Look, I'm so, sorry alright?" 'God that was harder than I thought it would be.'

Six nodded. "Okay." She then transformed into her Dragon form.

Ranma nodded. "That'll work."

Six had transformed herself into a Dragon that was much larger than Taro's cursed form, she a huge wingspan and her scales were orange toned.

Meanwhile Hanza snored loudly, which caused Six to wince. "Her snoring is hurting my ears."

Jane rolled her eyes and went over to kick Hanza awake. 'Wimp.' She thought to herself.

Six sighed in relief. "Oh thank you!"

Hanza grumbled a bit as she woke up, then she spotted six, not that she was hard to miss. "What's this about?"

G'Nolga smirked as she got on. "Transport, hop on."

Ranma grabbed Tanya and jumped onto Six's back. Jane helped Hanza up by throwing the woman onto Six's back, then she herself climbed up.

by Matdeception

G'nolga stared, unbelieving.

Hanza stared, slightly shocked.

Jane wondered what the big deal was.

Six had simply said, "Oooo! So cute!" before getting smacked on the back of the head by Jane for thinking anyone but Faunty was cute. Not that she couldn't see the appeal, she just owned Faunty so much as it was, some loyalty wasn't so much to ask for.

Tanya ignored them, as she had already seen this before.

Ranma wondered why everyone was staring at him. "Something wrong?" he checked to make sure nothing inappropriate was showing, failing to find anything he decided to simply ignore the staring as best he could. He had turned into human form once or twice only to find his pants had fallen around his ankles for being too big, but this didn't seem to be the case.

"You.. your a child!?" G'nolga all but shouted.

"Child?" Ranma blinked, giving G'nolga the lazy eye, "You don't look anything over twenty toots. Who are you to call me a child?"

While G'nolga didn't look old by any stretch of imagination, this was due to the lifespan of her race, the Dwarves, which typically ran two hundred to three hundred years. She herself was only a few years over her first century mark. She still looked about twenty five to thirty years old by human standards.

"How old are you anyway?" Hanza interrupted, eyeing the smilodon-turned cute boy. "I did not just think he looked cute did I?" she screamed mentally, and reaffirmed to look at Rook's porno more thoroughly when she got the chance. She liked girls! She liked girls! She was really a man cursed to forever remain in a woman's body, but she still liked girls! (No, she wasn't cursed, but she seemed to equate drinking that potion with being a curse).

Ranma shrugged uncomfortably as the group walked towards Rook's castle. There had been some debate about whether or not we should just fly up there, but Hanza had said Rook would more likely shoot the dragon down then let it land anywhere near him. Not that he couldn't blame the guy, he supposed. It can't be an everyday occurrence for a dragon carrying a bunch of people to arrive on your doorstep. "Seventeen I think. Maybe eighteen. Been so long since I thought about that I just don't know no more."

Six gave the boy a comforting pat on the back, "Wanna talk about it?"

Jane, G'nolga, and Tanya sweatdropped and stared at the woman. Who would have thought she could be empathic enough for that? Hell, all they thought she was good for was whining!

Ranma shrugged, "What's there to talk about?"

Tanya snorted, "Well, aside from Mrs. Airhead here and Jane, we really don't know all that much about you, Ranma. Aside from the fact you're a smilodon, and you hate the Armsmaster."

Six scowled, which came out as a cute pout, "HEY!" but she was ignored by everyone.

"G'nolga and her relationship with Julia Diggers." Tanya explained, missing the twitch in G'nolga's eye when she said 'relationship'. "Me and my hate for the bitch who stole my man. Hanza.. eerm.. well.."

G'nolga growled, as the Ninja mercenary didn't look to answer Tanya's subtle questions. "She has her reasons, trust me on that."

"Right. We can at least trust each other as far as the Diggers are concerned." Tanya drawled, poking Ranma in the back, "But aside from your promises to help us, and your self-proclaimed hate for the Armsmaster, we really don't know what motivates you."

"You wanna know what motivates me?" Ranma blinked, giving the shorter Kryn woman a glance. "Eer.. ahh..." Beating up the Weapon masters and the Armsmaster wasn't his real motivation, that was just a desire really. What really motivated him was...

"Do you even know, boy?" G'nolga shoot out.

"Of course I do! You tryin to imply I don't?" Ranma seethed.

"Answer the question if you do!" G'nolga gave the boy a lazy glare, "What? Not man enough?"

Ranma growled, "What do you know you Uncute tomboy!" he all but shouted, then stopped and covered his mouth with a look of shocked wonder on his face.

"Pfeh.." G'nolga shrugged. She didn't know what a tomboy was, but the Uncute comment didn't go unnoticed. She wasn't a vain person by any stretch of the imagination, and she knew an insult when she heard one. "But it didn't sound like an insult coming from him." she thought idly.

"Ranma?" Jane poked the guy, "What's wrong with you?"

Hanza snickered, though said nothing. Anyone who dared called G'nolga names to her face was worthy of some type of respect, especially if they got away with it.

Tanya looked at Ranma, then looked at G'nolga, then looked at Ranma, then looked at G'nolga, then looked at Ranma. Nope, she didn't understand what the heck just happened.

"Nothin." Ranma snapped, looking away from the group and picking up the pace. "Look, I just got things on my mind. I'll tell you guys all about me once I work some things out."

The women spared each other a glance, then shrugged and followed after the boy.

He couldn't believe it. It was too perfect! Who could have thought Saotome could have pulled something like this off, and without so much as adding a pimple to his plans? Heck, the boy helped move his plan along.

It was scarey. As long as he has known the boy, he never seemed to help him, whether by choice or inadvertently, no matter what he did.

Oh, this was perfect. He wanted to laugh, he wanted to laugh loudly.

But the mind of this body was still awake. He would have to wait until later, but it was time to lay some more seeds of despair.

Trisha and Sylvia had seen better days. They had been re-chained, thankfully the silver shackles had been replaced by dwarven made ones. It wouldn't allowed Trisha to transform, but at least she wasn't in constant pain anymore. At least they were now chained to the floor.

Sylvia cried, curled up in a fetal position.

Trisha shifted closed to the girl, hugging her close. It had so far been a terrible ordeal, but Sylvia had kept up a strong front whenever their tormentor would return. "Shhhh, Sylvia. I'm here for you." she hugged the elf girl tightly.

"It hurts.." Sylvia whimpered. "Every Time... the hands.. touching." she shivered horribly, clutching large amounts of fur as her tears began anew.

Trisha knew what Sylvia was talking about, she had been forced to watch, but the effect it was having on Sylvia went beyond the norm.

All their tormentor had done was...

by Matdeception

Rook's castle wasn't like anything Ranma expected. It was designed like a stereotypical Enchanted castle of the Medieval era, instead of white stone obsidian colored rocks took their place. Instead of smooth majestic towers, they were rather rocky and sinister looking. Instead of a proud banner floating on top the tallest tower to announce to the world who lived here, there was some kind of tarp with a crude drawing of a naked woman..

Ranma ignored the castle from that point on, opting to inspect the guards. When he had first seen these undead beings, G'nolga and Hanza had to restrain him from doing anything stupid, like wiping their asses off the face of the world.

"Just shut up, stay quiet, and if any of these guys try to put their greedy paws on you, kick them in the face." Hanza advised as she casually punched a skeletons head off when it made a grab for her ass.

Ranma sweatdropped, Tanya snarled, G'nolga didn't seem affected, and Six was holding onto Jane while staring fearfully at everything. Jane looked like she was about to have Six join the undead, if the twitch in her eye and the snarling of her purple lips meant anything.

"She hadn't gotten over the Dead Collector yet, has she?" Ranma wondered. While it had been a shock to see someone walking around shouting "BRING OUT YOUR DEAD", it had been even more mind numbing when some guy had put his father on the cart, shortly before stabbing him in the chest and crowing, "See! He's dead now! Give me my money!"

"Strange place." Ranma said with a shrug as Hanza pushed the outer doors to the castle open.

Ranma hmmed as a pudgy dead chicken looking thing followed them with a broom and dustpan, sweeping up the places they had traveled through. Looking at the girls, Ranma had to wonder how desensitized to these things G'nolga really was. She didn't seem disturbed in the slightest, even when that undead dragon skeleton lunged at Six and Jane. He felt bad that he hadn't done anything to help the girls, but Jane seemed more than strong enough to handle that dead dragon while he was shocked into inaction anyway

Hanza didn't seem too disturb either, but then again she did say she worked for this guy.

Tanya.. well..

"BURN AND FRY!" The ex-kryn priestess screeched when she felt a bone hand grab her chest. The skeleton that appeared out of nowhere probably tried to look surprised as his bones disintegrated into dust, Ranma was sure of it. Still.. lacking any facial muscles, skin, tendons and the like kinda makes such gestures impossible to detect with any accuracy.

"This is becoming a habit." he grumbled, watching the pudgy dead chicken thing let off what he could only discern as a howl in frustration, which nearly earned it the same fate as the skeleton when Tanya, still jumpy from being manhandled, whipped around and pointed that deadly spell casting hand at the thing. Thankfully Tanya had more restraint then she let on, so the pudgy chicken sweeper was allowed to live.. err.. something for another day.

"So Hanza.." Ranma drawled, back handing a skeleton that made a move for his crotch. A stray thought about whether or not that was a girl's skeleton, or just some gay skeleton crossed his mind before he buried it. "This guy Rook, he's a pervert huh?"

"Biggest perv you'll ever meet!" Hanza said with a voice full of disgust.

"You just need to know how to handle him." G'nolga said simply.

"Thirty-Eight!" Six sniffled, clutching the older woman's arms tightly. "I was so scared! Wah! I thought we were going to die!"

"Shut up, Six." Jane pursed her purple lips in a thin frown at the way Six was clinging to her. If she didn't know better...

"Ah, are you two okay?" Ranma asked, concerned. "That dead dragon didn't hurt you none?" he said seriously.

Jane eyed the boy. She contemplated responding with a withering barb, but she saw he was seriously concerned. "We'll be fine." she waved off his question, "Six just needs a nap."

"Ah.." A dragon needed naps to get over feeling scared? Ranma nodded, "So long as everything's all right I guess."

Tanya snorted, "Stop flirting, pig."

"Huh?! Who you calling a pig!" Ranma's aura of obliviousness shielded him from the flirting accusation. None of the girls missed the fact he wasn't denying the accusation either, which made Six blush and Jane wonder why Tanya was acting the way she did.

Tanya was about to snidely retort, when Hanza busted in, "Quiet. Rook's in here." she said as she opened the door to Rook's antechamber.

"Oh god! Yes, spread those cheeks! Yes! Yes! Touch it!" Rook crowded, flipping the next page of his magazine in barely restrained excitement, "Hmmmph! Miss Julia is so fine! I didn't think they had a Julia look alike! Damn, if she looks anything like this fine piece of ass..."

G'nolga twitched, her hands balling up into fists as she heard the name of her most hated enemy.

Rook, of course, was completely ignorant of the sudden company he had, thus he continued skimming through his latest addition to his porno collection. "Scrumptious."

Ranma glared at the man, refusing to recognize what the man was talking about, though he did blush. Just looking at him he figured the guy known as Rook was about his height, maybe a little taller, and he was decked out head to toe in a suit of fine plate armor modeled slightly like a samurai's suit from his homeland. He could feel waves of death flowing from the man, the feel of his power causing a queasy feeling of vileness to erupt in his caste-iron stomach, threatening to spew what food he still had within.

Hanza for herself simply stepped to the side of the room, crossing her arms just under her breasts and leveling a glare at her boss. "Stupid pervert." she mentally grumbled, suppressing the sudden desire to grab him by the neck and throw him off the highest tower into a field of razor blades.

Tanya, perhaps the only true Mage in this group, felt the pain around her abdomen caused by 'That time of the month' to swell in intensity. With sickening awe she could feel the pain in her gut swell, then shrink, only to swell again in time with the man's voice. She shivered; hugging the cloak Ranma had given her nearly a week ago tightly around her bosom. She glared at the man, but the overwhelming feeling of power she felt off the Knight froze her into inaction. She didn't dare speak, for fear of overstepping her bounds.

Six's only outward reaction was to hug Jane's arm tighter, an unconscious shiver spreading all through her petite body.

Jane had seen many things in her relatively short life. She had known love, she had experienced hate, she had seen her husband ripped from his throne of prestige due to his unique questing nature. She had seen and experienced many things since her Husband's exile to Earth. Still, she had never seen, nor felt, the raw vileness of the creature before it. It felt as if every single pore of her skin were under assault by tiny microscopic needles, each digging their way painfully into her skull and nearly buckling her in its intensity. She felt something she very much never wanted to feel again. Fear and absolute disgust.

Rook grinned, turning the page, "OoooO! Whoa.. when did they get G'nolga to pose nude like that?" he blinked, bringing the magazine up closer to his mask, "With a horse? Didn't she eat.. oh wait.." he chuckled, nearly falling out of his seat in laughter, "I get it! She 'eats' them! Hahah!"

"ROOK!" G'nolga screamed, lunging across the room with intent to tear the head off the perverted bastard!

Rook startled, falling out of his chair this time as he spied the enraged five foot tall dwarf barreling down on him with the meanest snarl he had ever seen in his relatively long life (or unlife, if you prefer). "Ah! G'nolga! What a pleasant.." he grabbed the magazine quickly, shoving it into his armor in a vain hope she wouldn't steal one of his only true joys. "You're looking.."

"JUST DIE!" G'nolga screamed in rage, strangling the Undead Knight in a vain hope that by ripping the bastard's head off he'll really die this time! "AND PULL UP YOUR PANTS YOU SICKO! NO ONE WANTS TO SEE THAT ROTTING PIECE OF FLESH!"

Thus the evil everyone felt was revealed, much to his or her disgust.

Ranma spared the beating a glance, before asking out loud, "What did he mean, she 'eats' horses? Does she cook them or something? Aren't they kinda stringy tastin?" he blinked as all the women suddenly moved the hell away from him at faster than light speed.

"DIE RANMA!" G'nolga had no compunctions with answering the boy's question in the most fitting way possible. By introducing very very intense pain to his lower anatomy.

Rook grumbled, rubbing his forehead irritably. "Hanza.."

Hanza shrugged from her seat, "Don't look at me Rook. I didn't invite them. They were all following that.. " she pointed to the opposite end of the room where G'nolga and Ranma were still beating the shit out of each other. ".. young man there. He's the were-smilodon you had me locate." Hey, she did her fucking job; let Rook deal with the clean up.

"Even G'nolga?" Rook mused out loud, sounding amused.

Tanya glared at the Knight. She may be a little fearful of angering the creature, but even she could detect the subtle hint he was making. She turned to look at the boy she was quickly growing to hate (or so she believed) and the dwarf rolling around on the ground wrestling, "That stupid pig is groping her everywhere!"

"You stupid tomboy! You're built like a brick, your thighs are too thick!" Ranma ranted, still in human form.

"DIE DIE DIE DIE! I'LL RIP YOUR BALLS OUT WITH MY BARE HANDS!" G'nolga countered as the two continued to roll on the ground, wrestling with each other fiercely.

Six giggled, watching as G'nolga ripped off Ranma's shirt in their struggle. "Go G'nolga! Whoo! Take it all off!"

"You may have something there, Tanya." Jane deadpanned as Ranma inadvertently ripped G'nolga's tunic, revealing far too much flesh to preserve any medium of modesty for the young dwarf. Neither Ranma nor G'nolga seemed to notice this as they continued beating the shit out of each other.

"Well.." Rook turned to the Kryn woman with an amused grin, not that they could see it behind his mask. The woman was glaring at the scene, and seemed to be growing angrier by the second, "Since your.. leader." he chuckled as he said that, watching the boy suddenly freeze up as he realized G'nolga was half naked on top of him. Big mistake, as G'nolga took advantage of it by kneeing him in the balls. "Ouch." Rook sympathized mentally, before continuing his earlier statement, "I guess you must be Tanya'Rey, escaped Sanctuary patient and currently number one on the most wanted list, next to that boy of course."

Ripping her eyes away from the scene, Tanya nodded slowly. "I see you know much about me, Mr. Rook."

"Eh, just Rook." he said, leaning back in his chair, "I make it my business to know these things."

Hanza snorted, "Yeah, I bet he found out about you in one of those porn magazines he keeps around." Just where the hell did they find those damn near exact copies were beyond her.

Ecchi, the Rakshasha sneezed cutely, currently in a Sheila form and taking naughty pictures in a tropical setting.

"Whatever." Rook snorted. He eyed the two fighting figures, and noticed with a raised eyebrow the boy had shifted into his hybrid form. "Probably to counter the pain of that nut shot." He couldn't blame him one iota for doing that, either.

"I'll admit, I have no interest in any of you." Rook shrugged, motioning to the women at the table, "I only really invited the were-smilodon here. Which means you three." he motioned to Tanya, Six, and Jane, "Are trespassing. And I don't like trespassers."

Jane frowned, "What?"

Six began to sniffle again, "Thirty-Eight! He's going to kill us and feed us to the dead dragon!"

Tanya snorted, "He's blowing smoke out of his ass."

Rook twitched, "I should kill you for that!"

"But you won't. You don't know anything about the smilodon, and you can't afford to alienate a possible powerful ally before you know more." Tanya reasoned with a wicked smirk, "Trust me, Rook, he would make a very powerful ally, if you don't piss him off, that is." She was reasonably sure of that, but she hadn't seen the full of extent of Ranma's abilities just yet. Still, Rook didn't need to know that.

"YOU STUPID UNCUTE TOMBOY!"

"DIE YOU PERVERT! G'nolga screeched, clutching one of her freely dangling breasts. That damn boy had grabbed it roughly in one of his holds, and she had every intention of making him pay for that!

"Well.." Rook drawled, "We aren't going to get anything done today. I'm going to bed. (He just wanted some privacy so he could finish seeing his porn) Hanza, show these fine ladies to their rooms, and.. uh... tell those two they get to sleep together tonight." he replied, not really thinking about what he said.

"What the hell?" Tanya snarled! Oh no! She wouldn't allow that pervert to sleep with any woman! She had to protect them, yeah, that's it!

"Calm down Tanya." Hanza snorted, grabbing the woman before she could jump her boss, "Rook just meant they get to sleep outside for fighting." That wasn't true, since they were pretty much going to be confined to this room (unless any of them tried to leave, Hanza didn't think anyone would be stupid enough to try and stop them).

"THAT'S IT YOU PINT SIZED MIDGET! THE GLOVES ARE COMING OFF!" Ranma began to glow with a serious aura of magical power, stunning everyone in the room since they couldn't detect him drawing from the ethereal stream. "MOKO TAKABISHA!"

BOOOOOOOOOOM

"Oh you are one dead cat!" G'nolga emerged from the blast, her cloths looking much worse for wear, but she herself didn't seem the least bit tired.

"I guess." Tanya allowed, as the group sans Ranma and G'nolga left the room. Six made a passing statement that would keep Tanya up all night for reasons she couldn't understand, "Y'know, maybe Ranma and G'nolga are the types that get all hot and bothered after fighting like that?"

by Philip Weigel

Genn looked up as five guys came up to her. "Um, Brianna?"

"Hmm?" Went the sunbathing and sleepy Lycanthropic.

"We got visitors."

Brianna lowered her shades and blinked. "So it seems we have."

The five guys went up to Genn and spoke to her. The first guy, a blonde caucasian spoke up. "Hi, I just wanted you to know that you're very pretty, and I was wondering if you would like to go on a date with me and my friends."

Brianna blinked, feeling... oddly jealous. 'Well, besides the fact that I'm good looking and the guys are ignoring me.' She thought.

As the five guys went on to say how beautiful the Raksasha was, Genn sweated nervously. "Um, thank you for the offers, but you see, I've already got a boyfriend."

"AWW!" Came the reply from the rejected males.

Brianna saw her chance and spoke up. "I'm available."

There was dead silence, after a bit a cricket chirped, then a tumbleweed blew past the pool.

Brianna blinked. "Um, hello?"

The five guys turned to Genn. "OH PLEASE MARRY US!" They then pulled out, amazingly out of nowhere, five engagement rings.

Genn sweatdropped a little and started to stutter. "Um, well, you see." How do you tell them that you're in love with a mage and let them down gently?

Brianna frowned in disgust and got up. "Well, since you're having so much fun Genn, I think I'll go home okay?"

Genn internally winced as Brianna walked away, her G-string bikini showing her ass quite well.

Brianna walked off, muttering about how she must be ugly if people could just ignore her. 'Yeah, that's gotta be it. But how do I change it?'

When she stepped by the changing rooms muttering about how she was ugly, a new voice spoke up. "I don't think you're ugly."

Brianna blinked. "Well, at least SOMEONE doesn't. Hey, who's there?"

Out of the office walked a short, fat man wearing sandals, a grass skirt, carrying pineapples and wearing a mystics mask.

"..." When the Lycanthropic. 'Now I KNOW I'm ugly.' She then turned in disgust and walked away.

"Hey wait! I have something to tell you!" Sabbo, the Hidden Emperor of Jade, sighed. "Why is it SO hard to let people know that Julia will soon be in trouble? Why can't they listen to me when I tell them that she needs help?" The fat man sighed and went back into the office and picked up the Ice Fang. He then flipped it over and started to scratch his back. "Ahh! That feels good. Strange thing to leave lying around, but oh well."

Brianna grumbled as she walked out of the pool, she was staring at the ground while grumbling. She should've watched where she was going because she crashed into someone who fell on top of her. "Ooof!" Brianna looked up and saw that a cute guy in maoist clothing had landed on her. "Hello, what's your name?"

"Hiro." Hiro then looked down a bit and blushed as he realized that he was staring at her breasts.

"FOOLISH BOY! COME ON! There is no time for ogling the pretty ladies." With that, Hiro's old man picked up the lad and drug him with.

Hiro moaned. "AW! Come on! I haven't seen a girl that good looking since that blonde girl, the bald chick, the French maid and that redheaded guy."

by Red Priest of the 17th Order

As the sun started to set on the Eastern Continent of Jade, the Weapons Master of the animals, and also the head of the Amazon Breeders yawned cutely. The all-encompassing mane of blonde hair hid her eyes, and her overabundant breasts bounced slightly as she walked over to a large rock to sit down. "Oh man, am I bushed. We've been walking all day."

To answer the slightly bimbo-like Weapons Master, the Dark Elf War Mage known to many as Karia let out a yawn as she stretched backwards, an audible cracking hear. "Stop whining. We still got a ways to walk if we're to make it to Trine."

"But it's almost nightfall!" Lily complained. "There's no way we'll make it there before daybreak tomorrow!"

"Daybreak at the pace YOU'RE going," Karia complained. God, this girl complained and made them stop every ten minutes since they started. How could someone so undisciplined be a Weapons Master, Karia would never know.

"But Kariaaaaaa..." The blonde, ditzy, bimbo of a Weapons Master whined. "You can't blame that on me. All those small little, lovable, adorable animals we passed along the way were so cute, and need help, and food, and warmth, and petting, and-"

"WILL YOU SHUT THE HELL UP ALREADY!?" Karia snapped. Gods damned, she just SO wanted to shove a lightning bolt of this blonde's bubbly, bouncy ass.

But then the Dark Elf soon regretted yelling. The fluffy bangs of the blonde's hair seemed to flip up. Karia could see that Lily's eyes were watering up, and...

"WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! YOU'RE SO MEAN TO ME, KARIA! YOU... YOU... MEANIE! WAAAAAAAAAAAAA AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Karia was tempted to just uproot a tree then and there as to hopefully smash the ditzy Weapons Master into a fine, mushy paste, when she noticed something about the area somehow seemed... 'Off'.

"What the nine hells?" Karia muttered to herself as many small, furry, and uberly-cute animals worthy of Disney's Bambi started to gather around the area, with a look of hate in their eyes worthy of a rabid Teletubby.

It was then that the truth hit Karia like a sack of bricks. Karia may have been an okay kappoierra fighter, but her specialty lay in animal summonings, since she was so damn empathic with the little critters.

And all these little critters were attracted by the waves of sadness that the whiner, er, Weapons Master of with 'wittle wuvables' as she so eloquently put it, was currently giving off.

"I am SO dead," Karia groaned as a good-sized brigade of chipmunks and squirrels dropped down from a nearby tree.

(-)

The Weapons Master and head of Jade's Giant Clan, Brunhildagard 'Mumsey' Brigand was not a happy camper.

Actually, that would be an understatement.

Right now, the Weapons Master was out for BLOOD!

Mumsey knew about what the smilodon was capable off. After all, all the legends had been quite explicit. And Mumsey had a bit of fear in her heart when it came to dealings with the were smilodon.

However, the smilodon had hurt her husband, her 'naughty ninja of nookie'!

"HE'S DEAD!" Mumsey growled as she sharpened her axe. Solid mythril, and plated with the purest silver she could get her hands on. She was going to give that over-fanged werecat such a beating!

And so Mumsey continued to work long into the night, behind her were the remains of a training dummy that suspiciously looked like a certain black-furred werecat... Or could have been if it wasn't missing it's arms, had a sword through it's chest, an axe in it's head, and more than a few arrow sticking out of it.

Meanwhile Sabbo goes around trying to find SOMEONE who will listen to him. "You! Horny Rakshasa girl! Listen!"

by Matdeception

Ranma slowly opened his eyes to the comforting darkness of night, and groaned. What the hell happened? Why was he so sore! His head felt like an anvil after it's blacksmith got done pounding it to hell and back.

He clamped his eyes shut, a wave of dizziness washing over him for the briefest of moments. Allowing his mind to wander, he tried to think back to the previous night. His head was pounding and everything felt hazy. There was always a brief moment after you wake up when your mind is fuzzy and slow, but this was ridiculous.

He felt a full body bruise forming all over his body, and though he was loathed to admit it, he started to suspect he had gotten his ass kicked. That didn't make much sense, since he was damn sure no one short of the Almighty himself could actually beat him in a fight. Still..

Where was he? Oh.. that's right, they had arrived at Rook's place the other day. What had happened after that? "G'nolga!" he groaned, the sound of his voice was hoarse, and it felt like that time he had been challenged to a Anything Goes Martial Arts Whiskey Drinking fight. On fire, but that fire was little more than embers that left his voice raw.

What was that uncomfortable pressure on his chest? Why did his neck feel like it was about to collapse, like someone had tried strangling him in his sleep? Shifting slightly, Ranma raised his head and cracked his eyes open, fighting back the pain he felt in his head as he willed his blurry vision to clear. He couldn't comprehend the sight before him.

He was on the floor with G'nolga lying on his chest with her short arms wrapped around his neck, weakly strangling him every few seconds as the woman sought to catch her breath. He was on the floor with a very naked G'nolga. He was on the floor with G'nolga, nearly as naked as she was.

He felt panic rise in his throat at he realized the compromising and entirely suggestive position the two were in, only dimly realizing their boots were the only clothing the two still wore, though his was shredded for some reason.

Shit! Damn! How the hell was he going to get out of this? It was only a matter of time before someone walked in on them! Tanya would be really upset if she found them like this! She was always on his ass for being a pervert, and if she caught him now she would be right! Maybe he could shake her off? Yeah! That might work.

Shifting slightly, he pushed as gently as he could, paying close attention to his hands less they grab something that would earn him a shout of PERVERT and a beating. Thats right Ranma, easy does it. Put her down slowly, ah ah! Don't make a sound, and you'll get out of this all right.

"What do you think you're doing." G'nolga's voice caused him to freeze, the hold she had on his neck tightening as she pulled her hard muscled body across his chest. She raised her head, and locked eyes with him.

It was there, looking in the woman's chestnut brown eyes, Ranma realized if there was a fate worse than death he couldn't think of one. "Uh.. mommy?" he squeaked.

Her eyes fluttered closed as the boy finally lost consciousness, glad for the moment to simply rest her tired and weary bones. She felt like utter rot physically, her body bruised, her ribs cracked nearly to it's breaking point, her lungs felt on fire with the physical exertion she had made to bring the boy down.

"Your.." she panted, "Tough.." she complimented him. And he was. She had fought for nearly a century, often times against some of the best, and for a young boy like him to give such a hard fight spoke volumes of his fighting skill and potential.

She allowed her head to fall on his chest as she rested, waiting for her strength to come back. Hmmm. This was nice. She wasn't one to dally about to any man, stubbornly refusing her goody two-shoe sister's advice to settle down and start pumping out kids, but that didn't mean she didn't notice them and, on rare occasions, flirt with the idea of bedding them. She just never found the right man for her. Well, there was that were-lion fifty years ago that had almost succeeded.

G'nolga chuckled weakly remembering that poor guy. He had been an exceptional carpenter, a good conversationalist, and he had the most wonderful hands and fingers whenever he offered to massage her worn tired muscles after a long day of training. She missed that, she truly did. The feeling of having someone lavish attention on you, the feeling of his huge hands caressing her form, she missed the tense moments when he would ponder about going further to seduce her, not that it would have work. Maybe she shouldn't have been so single minded in her pursuit of the Armsmaster Title? Maybe she should have gone further with him that night he asked to marry her?

She sighed, before breathing in deeply. Hmm. Ranma smelled so good, even if he was sweaty. There was something in his smell she couldn't identify, something smooth yet entirely electric when it reached her senses. She would have to be brain dead not to notice the sweet flora he emitted when she had first met him in Trine. It was perhaps the only reason she called him back after she first declined his offer. What was it about him that had attracted her so?

Maybe she should ask Tanya? Despite her rather vicious tongue, she mused the woman had to be attracted to the boy, why else would she get so bitchy whenever he talked to any of the other girls?

She frowned. That brought back to mind the problem of the dragons, Six and Thirty-Eight, or Jane, as she demanded she be called. She knew of Fauntleroy, more then she would ever want to admit. The fact those two women were even on Jade, and if their story were to be believed, hinted that the Questing Dragon had gained in power despite being cursed to human form, and was already seeking a means to return to this world. She couldn't allow that, that bastard deserved what he got and more. If he managed to return only the Gods knew what the megalomaniac creep would do.

"G'nolga." a hoarse groan alerted her to the boy's return to consciousness. Unbelievable! He shouldn't be awake! With all the damage she did, he shouldn't even be able to..

He shifted slightly; G'nolga suddenly began breathing in raggedly as she felt the aureole of her breasts drag across his hard muscled chest, her nipples hardening in response to his voice. Dear god, she was getting excited!

There was a reason she never bedded any man. By the time such thoughts became completely natural to a woman like her, she had discovered much to her annoyance that weak men were totally unattractive. She had fought for her strength, spending years struggling to be the best had left its mark on her mind. She couldn't accept a weaker, and thus lesser man.

It didn't help matters she rather enjoyed rough men who wouldn't hesitate to introduce a little pain to the mix, within reason of course.

She felt the boy's warm hands on her shoulders, and to her slight disappointment, he began to push her away. "Eh.." she thought mentally, "Why not?" Yes, why not? She was excited now, with a man she couldn't consider weak by any standards, and that was something she had always wanted. He may be a bit young, but a man was a man was a man. It wasn't like Tanya and he were a couple, not that it would have stopped her from trying anyway.

Squeezing his neck, G'nolga turned her head and locked gazes, her chestnut brown swirling orbs delving into his own lively ocean blue ."What do you think you're doing."

"Eh.. heh.. mommy!" the boy muttered weakly.

G'nolga grinned lustfully, pulling herself up his chest, their lips coming together in a heated clash as she took control.

Ranma's eyes widened in shock, his mind threatening to collapse as her hot tongue darted between his lips.

Ranma froze, eyes widening to the size of saucers as the woman kissed him passionately, her hands traveling up his sweaty neck, her muscled fingers grabbing on either side of his head.

Breaking the kiss, Ranma struggled to come up with something to say. His inexperience in such things made him stumble for the words, "Ah, G'nolga! Eh.. heh.. what.. what's happening?" he squeaked, not daring to make a move out of.. hesitation. No, never fear, not our Ranma.

G'nolga smirked, kicking one of her boots off before rubbing that leg up his own, scraping his skin with her nails as she went. "Boy.." she intoned huskily, pulling back on his hair, before licking his lips, ".. we're going to have sex." she explained, rubbing her hot and heavy chest against his.

"What?" She didn't just say what he thought she did. No! His brain had to be screwing with him!

"Sex, boy!" G'nolga roared, meshing her lips roughly with his own once again.

Ranma tentatively returned the kiss as his mind went into overdrive.

She wanted to have sex! With him no less! She's a bit short, but.. What the hell am I thinking? She's hot for a dwarf. Her chestnut brown hair that smells of fresh elderberries, her warm muscled body. Zounds! I'd be nuts to turn this woman down.. or dead. But.. my fiancées... aren't my fiancée's anymore! But Tanya... what about her? Why the hell does she matter! Hell yeah!

Finding strength he didn't know he possessed, he wrapped his arms around the woman roughly before rolling to his side, effectively pinning. Breaking their lip lock, Ranma smiled viciously, "Sex than, women."

G'nolga merely grinned in response, wrapping her short legs about his waist. Foreplay was hardly needed, the fight they had before had turned her on hotter then any heavy petting could.

Nodoka suddenly stiffened, a nearly translucent haze settling over her eyes.

Most of the group preparing to go to Jade didn't notice, for various reasons. Brit was currently fussing with Strype over the fact he was being forced to stay behind, because of baby Tiffany. "Strype, I'll be fine. Mom and Dad are going to be there. There is nothing to worry about!"

"I know, dear. I'm still worried. I just know something's going to happen, and it won't be good." Let it be known Strype isn't a precognitive, but if he only knew how right he was. But that was neither the here nor now.

Gina mumbled over her cell phone, "Dammit, where the hell did Brianna go! She's not answering her phone!"

Julia noticed though, "Saotome-san? Is everything alright?"

Nodoka sniffed, tears escaping her eyes in an over dramatic display of happiness, "My son..."

That got everyone's attention.

".. is being manly! She suddenly started dancing.

Séance, who was nearly ready to port all who were going to Jade, suddenly sweat dropped.

Julia and Gina, having seen her do this before, merely face faulted.

Brittany asked the question, though, "Manly? What the heck does that mean?"

"Grandbabies! Wai Wai!" was her answer, and Brit too face faulted.

Groaning, Julia idly wonder what woman could put the fact Saotome-san's son was a smilodon behind her in order to do the deed with the boy.

G'nolga shuddered as Ranma's angry purple cock head began peeling her petals apart, the hot sinew of his pole parting the slender lips and pushing her insides apart slowly. Her fingers gripped at Ranma's back, digging deep but not drawing blood as she was rocked with her first orgasm, her twat spewing out globs of her burning spunk that splattered on his wang, small spittle collecting on his abdomen and stomach.

She had waited so long to enjoy something like this, finally finding a man who could excite her both in her loins and in her warrior's mind. The feeling of his pole spearing her inch by inch was more than she ever expected, the only thing that she could think of to make this feeling perfect was Julia's head on a platter.

As Ranma slammed home, thoughts of her archrival were hammered out of her mind at the sudden welcome intrusion.

Ranma grunted as he became fully sheathed within the shorter woman. Damn, she was a tight burning fit, her insides felt like liquid heat, smothering and caressing his organ. The surprise of that wonderful feeling caused him to nearly buckle out of control.

"Fuck.." G'nolga groaned, bits of saliva escaping her mouth as she struggled to grasp the new alien sensations of being filled for the first time. While she was a virgin, technically, she had no hymen to break due to strenuous martial arts practice and activity. ".. me!" she finished in an animalistic growl, her fingers raking down his well chiseled chest, leaving burning read marks in their wake, even some blood.

Ranma lowered his arms, grasping the shorter woman by the hips, "God.. damn!" he grunted, the pressure from the woman's insides felt like it was about to blast his wang out. He slowly pulled out, enjoying the slippery glove of G'nolga's twat as he pushed back in.

G'nolga grunted, "Faster boy!" she managed to snarl between panting breaths.

Picking up the pace, Ranma repeatedly slammed his hip against the woman, her thighs jiggling slightly and a loud steady rhythm of grunts, groans, and the slurp washy sound of his wang pilfering her most holies of holy became all they knew as the two of them worked to achieve cloud nine.

Rook was in a relatively happy mood. Despite the rude interruption by G'nolga and his worthless peon Hanza, he had managed to escape to a private place to finish ogling the fine pieces of ass in his porno. Finding relief quickly (you don't want to know how), he had decided to go for a long leisurely walk while he waited for his living guests to wake the hell up.

That was perhaps the worse deal when it came to undead, or at least his version of undead. He never needed to sleep, he never got to dream. It was really annoying. Even his boss, Natasha Queen of the Vampires got to sleep in her coffin. Nope, not him.

"I wonder if G'nolga and that Ranma boy are done beating the shit out of each other?" He mused out loud, changing direction as he headed towards the last place he saw them. He was really interested in that Smilodon. Well, not as much as he led people to believe. His boss had certainly been interested. Why? What the hell is wrong with you! He wasn't a mind reader.

They had switched positions many times, G'nolga had lost count of her orgasms long ago, her mind currently acting purely on instinct as she pushed herself against Ranma's organ as he took her doggy style. Doggystyle, what a demeaning position for a woman of her stature.

She wasn't complaining though. Each time that long, hard, hot rod pierced her juice-spewing twat showed her the true pleasure of the style. She decided right then she liked it best when she was getting deeply penetrated.

Ranma was no better, but his super human constitution and years of pent up sexual frustrations made cumming a very long process. Pumping into the woman, he felt his desire rise each and every time her ass jiggled in response to his rapid forceful thrusts. It wouldn't be long now, the heat of her lons fetal, the harsh gasps and quickening of breath all combined into a crescendo of heated lust.

"FUCK ME! DO IT NOW!" G'nolga all but screeched as her orgasm hit again, threatening to knock her unconscious with its power. The heat in her tight little twat rose exponentially, choking the monstrous prick that violated her so thoroughly. Ranma couldn't take it this time, his balls rising up as he howled in release, piercing as deep as he could he held on to G'nolga's waste tightly, his spunk escaping his member in a torrent. It was more than orgasm for Ranma, to him this signified a final tie to his old life cut. All the frustrations he had gained because of jealous fiancée's, a spiteful dad, and his demeaning curse fled as quickly as his spunk flooded G'nolga's womb.

Rook stared at the scene with a critical eye. Well, he was shocked beyond belief, but the perv in him refused to say anything as the two climaxed. After all, this would be prime yanking (Again, you don't want to know! material!

Ranma hung over the body of the smaller woman, gasping roughly as he tried to regain a semblance of control.

G'nolga's face was practically smashed into the ground, only being spared that fate by the back of one of her hands. She was panting, spittle escaping her mouth as she fought to recover her wits and mind.

It's amazing what twelve words spoken by someone she hated could do in that regard.

Rook smirked, "So... Ranma.. Wild Horse.. I guess you do eat horses, huh G'nolga?"

Joe wasn't a smart guard. Of course, this was obvious if you knew him before he took that arrow to the skull. He had only been curious when his commander shouted, "DUCK!", so leaning over the wall to see what was going on, he had been shot through the face and died. Only to be recruited by Rook, that bastard.

Still, he may be stupid, but even he didn't think seeing his Master crashing through the outermost wall of the tower, and falling to the ground was a simple accident.

He didn't do anything about it though, because he simply didn't care. He was dead, so he was allowed some leeway.

by Philip Weigel

Brianna walked into the house in her G-string bikini and blinked when she saw people getting ready to go somewhere. She shrugged her shoulders and ignored them as they were all arguing with each other.

She winced a bit as she looked down on her skin. 'Oh great. I'm going to be SO burned if I don't get some lotion on right now.' She wasn't Britanny, and even if she did heal faster than a normal human, she would still be in pain for a lot longer than she'd like to be.

She walked into her room and discarded her bikini. She'd rather not worry about restrictive things like clothes when she put on lotion, they just got in the way of evening the lotion out.

"Gina? You in doll?" Ryan Tabbot, redheaded martial artist, looked around for his girlfriend. "Guess not." He sighed and blinked when he saw Gina's security cameras. He shrugged and decided to look around the complex. If she was ANYWHERE on the estate, her cameras would know.

"Hmm, let's see, outside?"

All Ryan got was a picture of Theo's garden.

"Nope. How about the gym?" He then thought about it. "Why would she be there?" He shook his head. "How about the living room?"

All that showed up was a picture of the T.V., couch, and a few other things.

"Nope. What about her room?"

All he saw was a picture of her bed, computer, a few awards and nothing else.

"Dang it! Okay, what about Brianna's room?" After all, it made some sense for her to be there, since Brianna was a technological genius.

What he got was something that made him stop, Brianna, nude, and rubbing lotion all over herself. He was so shocked by what he was seeing that his hand slipped onto the control panel and he hit the record option.

Of course, Gina had a blank tape set up in the machine and was now recording Brianna as she rubbed lotion onto the underside of her breasts.

Ryan stepped back a few feet until he felt the table behind him. He sat down on it only to watch Brianna rub each and EVERY part of her body down with lotion.

Ryan blinked a bit and grinned. 'Heh, I guess Brianna IS a natural blonde.'

As he watched Brianna rub lotion from her crotch all the way up to her breasts he had only one real thought on his mind. 'Now THERE'S a good looking body.'

by Red Priest of the 17th Order

The ex-High Priestess of El Dorado, Tanya'Rey, was never an early riser. By nature, the little Kryn would like to sleep in until nine pm, preferably amongst a luxurious bed, the softest of silk sheets, and the softest, comfiest of pillows.

However, Tanya had three things going against her for her stay at Rook's castle.

First off, while the bed was actually pretty decent, even if the mattress was a little hard. She also didn't appreciate the fact that the damn thing was actually a bed of nails underneath when one removed the mattress. And worse, the pillows were lumpy!

Second, all the moaning that went about in the castle. Damn, she should have expected this, she guessed. The whole place was filled with undead, or as Rook had put it, "Nine hundred and ninety-nine happy haunts".

And the third and most important reason... That god damned 'time of the month' kept Tanya from getting much sleep! The bloated feeling would really get in the way, and Tanya preferred to sleep on her stomach. It was just too uncomfortable to get in her favorite position. And the fact that she bled AGAIN was the reason she woke up THIS early.

Sighing, Tanya hoped to pass the time by walking around, exploring the castle until breakfast, (or what was a passing resemblance of breakfast for the undead). The Kryn was more than a little relieved that the undead perverts that were giving her problems the other day finally got some sense into their bleached and/or rotted skulls and were finally giving her some room... Even if they still gave her lewd stares.

"Sigh... Stupid menstrual cycle," Tanya growled as she continued to walk through the castle. She idly noticed that small pudgy chicken run out of her way, but didn't do anything about it. She was in too much pain to even fire off a fireball worthy of a lighter. "Oh God, do I wish this pain on men."

Sighing, Tanya went out a door, which lead into the courtyard. The area was pretty bare, but she could look up at the sky. It was still dark out, but not night anymore, a slight glow of light on the horizon. The sun should be fully raised soon. "And then I can try to talk to someone and-"

Tanya was taken out of her thoughts as a form crashed through the wall. She shrieked as it landed right in front of her. Her hand on her chest, Tanya was breathing heavily. Just what the hell was going on?

The form at Tanya's feet let out an audible groan as it stood up. Tanya blinked her eyes once, twice, thrice, and then she realized that it was the familiar armored figure of Rook, but two things were very off about his appearance.

First of all, his chest-plate. The thing was practically caved in to the point that it would have killed someone alive. Also, the fact that the indentation certainly looked like a fist was not lost on the former Kryn priestess either.

Second... THE GUY'S HEAD WAS ON FUCKING BACKWARDS!

With a grunt, the form of Rook got back onto its feet unsteadily. Rook's hands went up to it's heads and starts to pull, turning it's head back into place.

Her eyes shut tightly as Tanya winced due to the audible wet snap as Rook's head realigned with the rest of his spine.

Grunting, Rook moved his head back and forth, making a series of unpleasant crackling noises. "Damn. I didn't know I could feel pain like this again," Rook mumbled to himself. He was about to head out to go tell the other what he saw, when he realized he wouldn't have to go far.

"Excuse me," Tanya spoke up, after finding her voice. "What the hell just happened?"

Smiling underneath his mask, Rook had to suppress the urge to chuckle out loud. "Oh, nothing much," Rook said nonchalantly. "Just walked in on Ranma and G'nolga."

Rolling her eyes, Tanya asked, "They're still fighting?"

"Nah," Rook said. "They had just finished..."

"Oh good," Tanya said in relief. She would have hated for Ranma to get hurt, after all, she really liked the guy didn't want the idiot slowing them down.

"...Fucking each other's brains out," Rook added hastily.

The process went through Tanya's mind. She didn't take her eyes off of Rook. "WHAT!?" She all but screamed.

Rook continued to smile underneath his mask. Yes, this was going to be fun. "Damn right! The dwarf took the wild horse for a ride!" He chuckled. "I just knew she 'ate' horses."

Rook had to suppress a roar of laughter as he saw Tanya skulk past him and storm back into the castle. Yay! This was going to be such fun!

"But first," Rook mumbled, still smiling. "Who else should I tell this to?"

And so, Rook went limping off to spread the news of the nookie between Ranma and G'nolga.

by Matdeception

Ranma had often questioned why he was hated, and he always received the stupidest answers imaginable.

"Your not suppose to exist."

"You eat souls."

"You eat the innards of those you kill."

"Your a dick."

Ect. ect. ect.

Today, in this very Episode, you will learn the truth! The complete unblemished TRUTH that these characters may never know. Sucks to be them, don't it?

Around the time of the Great Migration to Jade, where the remaining Were-creatures and Magic users escaped the fast approaching age of science, there existed a group of assorted werecat females that were especially glad the Greatly Respected Smilodon race had desired to remain behind.

These were-cats hated men. Not so much that they killed them, ripped their balls off, before shoving a big hairy foot up their ass(Not always, anyway). They just generally detested men, much preferring the more gentle sex of that with a woman.

Out of all the men they hated, they hated the Smilodon race the most. While the women of that species wasn't hated per say, the men were openly detested for what they could do to a were-cat female. It didn't sit well with them for some shit fuck of a man to hold that much control over a female, so when they heard the bastards weren't coming to Jade, they were exceedingly happy.

Who wouldn't be, if you were a sexist bitch?

Once on Jade, the women began to spread rumors and lies about the absent Smilodon tribe. At first, everyone ignored their bitch asses, since they all knew better. Eventually though, a person here or there would begin to believe, which continued until everyone who knew the truth either died, or just didn't care to correct the Femi Nasi, as they began calling themselves a few years after the migration to Jade.

It didn't help matters those cunts blamed the coming of the Shadows on the smilodon race, which the ignorant masses accepted simply because they needed someone to blame, even if the true blame laid elsewhere.

After the Shadows were finally shown the light, the Femi Nasi reaffirmed their belief that this was all the Smilodons fault! No one said anything different, most coming to firmly believe this as truth, and those few who might know different were too busy rebuilding, anyway.

Now, years later, the proud and all but forgotten Femi Nasi have convened a secret meeting, the last of the line coming together to prove once and for all the power of the Clit rules all!

Somewhere on Jade, within a large house a group of ancient hags that look oddly enough like Cologne, only ten times uglier, sat around a table discussing the news of the smilodon. I'd describe them, but I'd rather not unleash that piece of Lovecraftian horror.

"Sla Ut! What is the.. oh for god sakes Ca Unt! Put your dentures back in!"

Ca Unt glared at the wrinkly old hag, before shoving her fake wooden teeth back in place. "Ah, as I was saying. Sla Ut died last night, victim of a band of ravaging gophers."

Bia Tch nodded sadly, "Tis a shame."

Psy Cho shrugged, "Well... to business then. A smilodon has been sighted.. what are we going to do?"

Les Bian glared at Bia Tch, "Wake up, you skank!" these two had a thing going for a few years back in the day, until Les caught Bia sleeping with her donkey, they never made up.

Bia Tch jolted awake, shaking off her sleepy feelings, "Well.. we ride?" she offered.

"Indeed!" they all shouted, two going into a coughing jag while the others fell asleep.

"Let's go!" Ca Unt exclaimed, recovering her breath and wakening the others

In the sunset, four proud steeds carried their proud owners. Just as they disappeared over the horizon, you could hear a mysterious voice say "And so.. the Feminazi ride again!"

Dun dun dun!

"Thats Nasi you stupid male!"

"Ah, oh. Sorry." the male's mysterious voice managed to say before a crowd of gophers ran him over and ate him.

Lets leave this blatant disregard for the fourth wall behind, and look towards:

by Red Priest of the 17th Order

Groaning a little to herself, the Dragon formerly know as Thirty-Eight, aka "Jane" sighed to herself as she wondered how the hell she had gotten into this mess.

Okay, it probably started off with the fact she was born a Wyrm instead of a dragon, and that she was considered a second-class citizen among the dragon races, but she decided NOT to go back that far.

Okay, so her husband was the meanest, psychotic, genocidal megalomaniac of a golden dragon. She needed love damn it, and especially prestige! Marrying him had taken care of that, since he was one of the most respected dragons around...

...Of course, then he had to go on those weird questing binges of his, getting completely tossed out of power, and out of the frikin' realm!

From then on, Jane had to do as Fauntleroy wanted, to help him get back into power. After all, as a lowly Wyrm, Jane could not do many things according to dragon law.

She could not hold property.

She could not perform business transactions.

She could not speak to other dragons.

She could not have a name.

She could not have children.

Yes, it was better to follow Fauntleroy on Earth, than to stay on Jade as a lowly creature that other Dragons considered no better than a lowly beast.

But now, after years of loyal servitude to her husband, Fauntleroy had given her and Six what they so longed for. A Chance to be true dragons!

Since Fauntleroy used the power of Dreadwing the Iron Fist's Mymior, Jane and Six had become a full-fledged dragons. And since they were now dragons, Fauntleroy knew that they would not be constricted by the restraints that dragon law placed on all pseudo-dragons. They could walk Jade and not have to worry. And they could do a lot more to help their husband

Yes. That was why they were on Jade. While he was still locked in human form and cursed from even being able to enter the Jade Realm, she and Six were not. So, handing Jane his Gate Scroll, he gave the two instructions to get as many magical artifacts as they could, and then return to him with the goods, so that he may try and regain his power further, and start molding the world in his image.

"But then Six screwed up, lost the damn scroll, AND out money along with it somehow," Jane thought irritably. She looked down at the sleeping former drake and sighed. The girl was sleeping peacefully as she nuzzled her face between her breasts.

Yes, Jane was still wearing her clothes.

The former wyrm sighed irritably at Six's antics. The girl was a VERY young dragon, only twenty years; a drop in the bucket for a dragon's lifetime. Jane herself wasn't much better, being only sixty, but she somehow felt responsible for the younger girl. After all, like herself, Six had stayed by Fauntleroy. Granted, not so much for love, but because what else were they to do with the hand fate had dealt them at birth?

"And here we are now," Jane thought glumly. She was on Jade, had gotten arrested, freed by Jade's most wanted 'criminal', (though Jane had trouble thinking of Ranma as such) he had offered her an honest helping hand, and now she had stayed a night in the castle of the Dreaded Undead Knight of the East, Rook!

Looking down at Jane, she let off a good-natured sigh as Six cooed rather cutely. She'd never say this to the girl outright, but Jane did care for her partner, no matter how oblivious she may have been at times.

"And the girl's been at her wits' end since we got here," Jane thought irritably. That bone dragon had been a REAL pain in the ass to deal with. What was it with all the irritable undead around here. God damn, did Death's Domain ever suck donkey balls!

Looking out the window to see the sun up, Jane decided that it was time to get back into character. Schooling her features into a from Jane unceremoniously kicked Six off the bed. "WAKE UP ALREADY!" She shouted angrily.

"Owwies!" Six whined from her place on the floor. Having fallen off the bed, and out from underneath the blanket, one could see that the former drake was only dressed in her Hello Kitty bra and underwear. "What you do that for, Thirty-Eight?"

Jane's eye twitched at being referred to by number. "I told you to stop calling me that already!" Jane grumbled.

Jane rolled her eyes as Six then began crying again. Yep. No matter what, some things just wouldn't seem to change.

by Matdeception

G'nolga grimaced, rubbing her abdomen as an entirely unfamiliar sensation spread throughout her lower body. Pain, but a pleasant kind of pain. She could feel something moving inside, caressing her insides and living tingly itches behind in its wake. Looking away from Rook's exit vector, her eyes traveled down to her twat, which even now was leaking her fluids mixed with Ranma's spunk, the caucus substance slowly trailing down her firm thighs.

"Absolutely disgusting." she mumbled, glancing back to the boy she had only recently turned into a man. While she had enjoyed most of the process, very much in fact, Rook had soured her mood by showing up and catching them. Now that he had obviously seen them, she felt really dirty. "I'm going to take a bath." And she had always wondered about that 'Cuddle' time people would talk about! Damn Rook!

Ranma watched the shorter woman leave the room in her birthday suit, not seeming to care about her nudity in the very slightest. He didn't think he could ever do something like that, stroll around in the buff so anyone who happened upon him could see him for everything he was worth.

He snorted, pushing those thoughts away. "It figured someone would walk in on my first time."

Looking around the room, he found the remains of his pants and retrieved his dimensional pocket. "Thank god." he mumbled, pulling some spare clothes out.

Jane frowned, rubbing her forehead irritably. "Why, oh why are you telling us this?"

Rook shrugged, walking around the two women. "Spite."

Six giggled, a demure blush spreading across her dusky cheeks. "You mean! He! She! Oooooh!" she grabbed Jane's hands and started bouncing, "Do you think she liked it?"

Jane snorted, narrowing her eyes at the bundle of energy, "Why would you care?"

"Ah... curiosity?"

"Well, forget it." Jane snapped, "You know how you get when you talk about sex! Fauntleroy isn't even here! You'll just be torturing..."

Six grinned, an evil little grin, the effect nearly sending Jane running away screaming in horror! "Jane.." Oh dear god, she even remembered her name! We're all going to die! "We are full dragons now, we can do whoever we want!"

Jane fought a blush down, barely, "Ah.. look.. HEY! COME BACK HERE!" she screamed as the younger woman ran away. She sighed, "I better follow and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." Yeah, like jump Ranma's bones. He seemed the type for a monogamous relationship, and it looks like G'nolga had landed him.

Tanya wasn't happy. It wasn't so hard to understand just why she was upset, but in case you didn't know it had to deal with a pigtailed pervert and his womanizing ways! She figured G'nolga at being much to anal to even attempt seducing the boy, and she had been noticing all the flirting he had been doing the last few days. Especially with those two Dragon sluts

Stomping around the castle in a near blind rage, she had discovered very quickly she was lost. Stopping and asking a few helpful skeletons which way to go, and then crushing them under her boot, she made her way.

She stopped when G'nolga rounded the corner, the dwarf dressed in her birthday suit and seeming nonplused by the lewd stares she was receiving from the help. Watching the dwarf walk away, Tanya was startled to discover a small stream of milky white and thick yellow fluid flowing down her legs.

Now, she might not have believed Rook at first. After all, he was an Undead bastard pervert, but after seeing the sweaty spunk covered dwarf walk by... all doubt fled her mind. A vicious snarl appeared on her lips as she stomped toward the room were an unsuspecting pigtailed bastard was about to get his comeuppance!

Ranma patted his cloths down. He took a tentative sniff and nearly baulked at the overwhelming stench of his coitus with G'nolga that had been smeared all over his body. Damn that little sex freak had some powerful musk!

He shook that thought away, as thoughts of what he did with G'nolga and the changes he had undergone since arriving in Jade came to mind. Before all the heck he suffered because of those bastard Weapon masters, he wouldn't have been able to do this with G'nolga. It was perhaps the first true smack in the face when it concerned the changes he had undergone.

Now that he realized he had changed, he figured he hadn't changed at all for the better. But was that so bad? He had been a bit of a pushover before this, and he knew it. Letting the girls walk all over him, fearful of hurting their feelings. God, looking back now, he must have been such a weenie.

Still. He may have changed, but G'nolga seemed really upset after they had finished. He figured Rook might be the cause of it, but when she turned and looked at him he could have sworn she was upset with him too. He didn't want that. G'nolga, despite the little time he had known her, was one of his only friends.

Sighing, Ranma nodded to himself. "I'll apologize to her. I really don't want something like this to ruin our friendship." he said out loud, before turning around to walk out the door.

He was surprised to discover an open palm heading at high speed for his face, thus didn't react.

*SLAP!*

"YOU BASTARD!" Tanya screeched, rearing back and slapping him again. Ranma was so stunned; he didn't even try to put up a defense against it!

*SLAP!*

"What the hell!" Ranma stuttered, shocked by the slaps. What the hell was wrong with this chick?

"You know goddamn well what's wrong! You pervert! You screwed her! Didn't you! Didn't you!" She panted, her breathing erratic, "With G'nolga of all people! How could you!" she continued to rant, forcing the sudden stabbing pain in her gut.

"Look! I didn't mean too! It just happened!"

"Just happened? JUST HAPPENED!? You betrayed me! You bas.."

Ranma frowned when Tanya reared back to deliver another slap. He caught her hand, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Tanya'Rey, I am not yours! You are my ally, an ally who wants nothing more than to kill a woman because you can't accept the fact the man you loved fell in love with her!" he snorted, pushing her away, "Didn't think I knew? Please! " he snorted, full of disgust, "G'nolga knows all about you, she filled me in."

He turned and began walking away from her. He felt like crap, and knew some of those words hurt the Kryn.. but.. "Until you can bury your past I can never betray you, because there will never be an us until you can find peace with yourself." he snorted, walking away. "I won't play second fiddle for no one." It was a harsh lesson, something he had to learn while surviving on this world. Bury your past, before it can bury you.


	3. Chapter 3

**by Red Priest of the 17th Order**

Ranma sighed as he left Tanya to do her thing. All right. He felt a little guilty at what happened, but he had to show the Kryn her place! "Damn it! I had enough of women treating me like property in Nerima. I so do NOT need that here!"

Shaking his head, the fights for his life, the perversions of that undead idiot, the sex with G'nolga, the verbal fight with Tanya... Ranma realized it didn't really matter anymore. Nothing really did except getting back at those damned Weapon Masters for putting that price on his head. He had to try and clear his mind on these matters.

"And once they're all beaten, then they'll realize what jerks they were," Ranma thought seriously as he turned down another hallway. "Once they realize they can't beat me, I'll fore 'em to step down in their stupid ideas that I should be exterminated, and then I can finally just sit back and fucking rest!"

Chuckling, Ranma knew he needed to let off some steam... "I hope there's a training room around here somewhere."

As fate would have it, the real mind behind Ranma's actions grumbled irritably, demanding its morning offering.

Rolling, his eyes, Ranma grunted irritably. "Okay, okay. I'll get you your breakfast.

Not liking the sass in Ranma's response, the stomach grumbled louder.

"Hold on, hold on," Ranma said quickly, as to appease the growing sense of nausea that was building up. "I'll find the damn kitchen, all right?"

The stomach appeared, it grumbled in a manner resembling chortling.

However, the stomach's victory was short-lived as Ranma found himself tacked to the floor.

Wincing, Ranma opened his eyes. Who the heck could have caught him off guard?

Staring at the figure on top of him, Ranma blinked his eyes once, twice, thrice. "S-Six!?" Ranma asked in total shook.

The tanned brunette had a glazed look in her golden-brown eyes as she smiled down huskily at Ranma. "Hmm... Yes," Six said as her hands went to caress his muscles, even though his shirt was in the way. "Feels nice," the former drake cooed rather cutely, which almost broke the tension of passion.

Ranma's jaw was flapping in complete shock. "E-excuse me!?"

The answer Ranma got was Six taking off her red gloves with the yellow hearts on the back of the palms and tossing them to the side of the hall.

With her ungloved hands she then began unbuttoning the series of buttons on Ranma's shirt as fast as she could. "Oooooh... I love the feeling of your fur under my fingers," Six giggled lightly. "It tickles!"

Ranma nodded his head dumbly as Six did that. "S-Six?" Ranma asked in a confused voice.

"Mmm... Yes?" Six asked as she nuzzled her cheek against his furry chest, her hand scratching his abdomen.

"What do you think you DoING!" Ranma shrieked out that last part, as he felt Six's hand go into his pants, readying a certain piece of his anatomy back into action.

The stomach growled. It could feel the balance of power shifted as that damned libido came back into action. Damn thing had been chained for years; why the hell did it have to come back with a vengeance now!?

Smiling, Ranma watched Six sat on top of him, straddling her hips. She took off her bow-tie easily enough and started unbuttoning her yellow shirt, revealing she didn't wear a bra under that cute frame of hers.

Staring at her breasts, Ranma could see they were a good-sized B-Cup, with darker-toned nipples compared to the rest of the skin.

Smiling still, Ranma realized who the hell was he to argue? Leaning forward, Ranma began to lick at Six's right nipple as best he could, his rough feline tongue sending shivers up the former drake's spine.

(-)

Dropping to her knees, Tanya whimpered as the truth of Ranma's statement hit her like a sack of bricks. He was not hers, he never was. He was an ally so she could get revenge on that big-breasted bitch, which had stolen her man.

Ranma was right, and Tanya knew it. It was just as he said. Until she could put her past behind her, there could never be an 'us' with herself and Ranma. He was not willing to play second fiddle to her past emotions over a prince who rejected her, and he outright told her until she could find peace with herself, he would never be able to do anything to betray her. How could he betray someone when he wasn't the main love of her life.

As her hands gripped at the stone floor, Tanya breathed heavily. Between the guilt, the confusion of motions, and her god-damned period, the ex-High Priestess of El Dorado felt like she was going to throw her guts up.

Which is what she did.

Her discourse finally having left her, Tanya started to stumble away down the hall, barely noticing the small, pudgy, chicken-like think with the mop and bucket that was crying its eyes out. All she could think of what had happened.

"Ranma doesn't want me... He's never wanted me..." Tanya thought sadly.

Shaking her head, Tanya got herself out of such thoughts. "No." She told herself. "He wouldn't have explained it like that to me if he didn't want me. He doesn't want to be overshadowed by my love for Prince Stryyp."

Sighing, Tanya knew THIS would be difficult. She couldn't' just give up Stryyp now. There was so much she wanted to do. So much she needed to tell him. So much she wanted to do with him!

"And there's no way he'll ever do THAT with me," Tanya thought sadly. "The only way I could do it is if Stryyp thought NOTHING of that werecheetah at the time, and I realize he..." Tanya grimaced, "L-l-loves that bimbo..."

Tanya sighed. The only way she'd accomplish THAT is if she had the means to make a...

"Wait a minute!" Tanya cried out in shock. "I'm in a fucking fairytale world for crying out loud!"

And with that said, Tanya got back onto her feet, and was running. She had to find Rook!

(-)

Ranma growled huskily as he forced Six onto her stomach. She was 'face down and cheeks up'. His hand rubbed and caressed her dusky ass for a moment, just loving the absolute feel. She was so soft. "I wonder if this is how all dragons are," Ranma thought idly.

Cooing in pleasure, Six wiggled her hips a bit. "Ranmaaaa..." She whined rather cutely. "I need you noooow... Please don't leave me waiting!"

Smiling wide, Ranma nodded his head. He had to agree with the former drake. Who was he to keep her waiting?

"But first," Ranma said with a lustful smile. His hands roamed all over Six's naked body, caressing her all over. He wanted to get a feel for every spot of the drake that he could. There was just so something alluring about these women now that he had just let loose and allowed himself to start screwing their brains out.

Six whimpered and bucked her hips. She felt as Ranma brought her back, hugging him to her as she sat on his lap. She could feel herself laying back against his broad chest and chiseled stomach. Oh gods damned she loved the feel of all that fur! "Ranma..." Six moaned huskily. "Give it to me!"

"Oh?" Ranma asked playfully, using one of his hands to give her left breast a squeeze. "Give you what!"

Blushing, Six screamed, "It! IT!"

"But what is 'it'?" Ranma asked teasingly as he nipped at Six's neck. He brought his hand down to feel her slit with his fingers. God, she was ever so soaked. He knew she was just enjoying this.

Blushing further, Six wondered why Ranma had to tease her like this. "I want you cock..." She said softly.

"What was that?" Ranma asked again, leaning his head forward.

"Your cock!" Six screamed. "I WANT YOUR HARD COCK!"

Smiling ferally, Ranma said, "Okay!" he placed his arms underneath Six's armpits to lift her up, and then brought her down.

Rearing her head back, Six let out a primal cry of pleasure as she felt Ranma's hard, thick smilodon-meat enter on through her tight folds. God damned, he was filling her more than Fauntleroy ever could!

(-)

Covered head to toe in bandages, the Dark Elf Karia groaned as she sat down on a nearby stump to try and relax. Dammit. That stupid tree-hugger hippie Weapons Master and her legions of furry friends! Because of all the mauling she had to go through they did have to set up camp before reaching Trine because there was no way they could keep going and make it at daybreak. And since it didn't seem like little miss tree-hugger wasn't going to get moving, they might as well sleep there again tonight and make it to Trine around afternoon tomorrow.

Her eye twitching, Karia stared at the blonde bimbo of a Weapons Master, as she was bent over and talking to one of those bushy-tailed bastards known as 'squirrels'.

"Chirp, chirp chirp, chirpity chirp?" Lily asked the little squirrel in squirrel tongue.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirrup, quip, quip, chip!" The little squirrel answered back. It then hastily added, "Quip, quip, chirrup, chip, chirpity, chirp, chirrup, chip, quip, quip, chirp!"

"QUIEP!?" Lily shrieked in absolute shock, her eyes wide in disbelief.

"Quip, chirp, chirrup, chirpity chirp!" Said the little squirrel with a nod of its head

Nodding her head slowly, all Lily could say to that was, "Chirp..."

Karia, who had been starting to feel ill from the unbelievable sickeningly cute display, grumbled, "I still don't know how the hell you do that."

At Karia's voice, Lily turned back to look at the Dark Elf seriously. "That thing..." Lily began slowly. "It's not a full smilodon."

"Eh?" Karia asked in confusion.

Looking at Karia still, Lily explained, "The squirrels... The... The were smilodon would take time to talk to them... He was so lonely... So sad... They swore they could feel as a rage was slowly building in him, threatening to break out at any moment," Lily sniffled. "The squirrels were very sad every time the smilodon cried! He cried, Karia! He cried!"

Karia looked at Lily as if she had grown another head. "Oookay... That still DOESN'T explain WHY

"They can see tinges of gold to his pelt..." Lily started slowly, "And the tiniest marks of darker fur around the eyes; eye stripes, really." Lily looked up to stare into Karia's eyes. "As well as spots."

"...SPOTS?" Karia asked incredulously. "ON A TIGER!?"

"Yes," Lily answered with a nod of her head."

Karia just stared at Lily for a long time. "Girl..." The Dark Elf started, "What are you smoking? And why aren't I getting any!?"

"Karia..." Lily began slowly, wondering how to explain this. "The spots can't easily be seen because they are same color as the pelt. But if you study the smilodon's fur closely... You'll see outline of spots."

Nodding her head, Karia asked, "So what does this mean?"

Smiling brightly, Lily answered truthfully. "HE'S GOT CHEETAH BLOOD!"

"WHAT!?" was the cry from Karia that could be heard for miles around. Birds were suddenly taking to the air from the forest.

(-)

With a veritable smile on his face and in his unbeating heart, Rook chuckled as he walked over to the wall of his throne room. Pulling down one of the torch-holders on the wall, a piece of the wall slid back to reveal a series of shelves filled with Crystal balls.

"Heh. My most sacred of treasures," Rook thought happily. "My event recording crystals."

Placing one in the center of the room, Rook sat back onto his throne. "On," was the only word Rook called out.

It was then the crystal came on, and an image appeared in the air. There was writing that said, "Elven Babes Publishing Presents: Eleven Babes Gone Wild 3 - Sensational Sylvan Slut Symphony"

Rook chuckled with glee as the image of a Dark Elf and a Forest Elf appeared. The Forest Elf was tied up in all sorts of bondage as the Dark Elf was heating up her whip over an open flame. There were many Elven males present, ready to give the tied-up Forest Elf slut what for!

And then the door to his throne room opened, dispelling the Crystal.

"Dammit!" Rook growled. He started to see who would dare intrude and saw the Kryn woman stomping over to him. "Listen here, bitch you better have a good reason for-"

Rook never got to finish his ranting as Tanya grabbed Rook roughly by his shoulders and pulled him down to eye-level. "ROOK!" She yelled in his face.

"...Yes?" Rook managed to say in a rather pathetic voice.

"Does your castle have an alchemy lab?" Tanya asked, her eyes burrowing holes into the undead knight with her stare.

"...Yes..." Rook managed to answer pathetically.

"WHERE IS IT!?" Tanya screamed.

Raising a shaking finger, Rook pointed in a general direction. With that, Tanya dropped him and left without another word.

"Damn," Rook grumbled as he cracked his neck. "What's her problem."

(-)

Jane just stared as Six was riding Ranma for all her worth. Or rather, was getting pounded into as though Ranma were a jackhammer.

"Oh, YES!" Six cried out, not caring in the slightest her face was covered in Ranma's spunk from an earlier ejaculation. "GIVE IT TO ME!"

Growling playfully, Ranma slapped Six on the ass hard as he continued to pound his meat into her sore pussy. This girl just knew how to keep him going.

Rearing her head back, Six just moaned in absolute passion as she was fucked senseless by the over-endowed smilodon.

Smiling, Ranma tauntingly said, "I don't hear any screaming."

"Then give it to me harder!" Six hissed. She then did indeed scream as Ranma thrust harder into her swollen sex.

Her eye twitching, Jane turned and left the area, a trail of sweat trickling from the side of her head.

(-)

Rook smiled. "Oh yeah! Yeah! YEAH! Do it, baby! Take that sucker all the way in! YEAH!"

However, Rook's crystal went out again and was replaced by the image of a certain Vampire Queen. "Woah! I didn't know they had a Tanya look-alike."

Her eye twitching, Natasha shouted, "ROOK!"

Wincing, Rook sat up. "Oh! Shit! I forgot this thing can act as a communication crystal!"

"Indeed..." Was all Natasha said as she looked down with a frown on her face. Growling, she than snapped, "And pull your pants up!"

Grumbling, Rook did as told. "So, what brings this on?"

"I called to ask if you had located the smilodon yet!" Natasha asked.

Blinking his eyes, Rook said, "As a matter of fact..."

(-)

Smiling, Ranma laid on the ground, hugging Six tightly. Goddamn, that girl was a ride and a half.

However, with the libido sated, the stomach growled angrily. How dare it be forced to wait for its meal!? Oh, there would be hell to pay, yes there would!

 **by Philip Weigel**

The dark haired Dark Elf looked at the blonde bimbo Amazon Weapons Master seriously. "Werecheetah blood? You mean he's related to the Wear Cheetahs?" The Amazon nodded as the two sat on some logs around a campfire.

The Dark Elf frowned and looked into the fire. 'There's something not right about all of this.' Karia looked at her quasi-friend seriously. "How do you see out of all that hair?"

Lily shrugged, causing her over-endowed chest to bounce lightly. Karia shook her head, of course, the action caused her a little bit of pain as she was still in bandages from the killer mutant squirrel attack. "Whatever... But I wonder."

"Hmm? Wonder what?"

'Why the hell I'm stuck in the wilderness with you.' "Well, why the heck are you so excited about him having Cheetah blood? He's still a Were Smilodon."

Lily nodded. "I know. But I'm also the leader of the Amazon Breeders." The blonde blinked, even though no one could see it. "Hey, that rhymes." She then placed her fingers to her mouth as she giggled.

The Warmage rolled her eyes at her over-endowed companion. Not that she herself was shabby in that department, she was just far more muscled than most. "Whatever. I know that you're the leader of the Amazons, so what of it?"

"Well, don't you see it?"

Karia blinked and wracked her head for whatever it was that the woman was implying. "See what?"

Lily sighed and shook her head at her fellow Weapons Master. "You don't get it do you? This is the PERFECT chance for the Wear Cheetahs to come back!"

Lily then scratched her head and wondered why Karia had just face faulted. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? she says." Karia grumbled to herself. "I'LL TELL YOU WHAT'S WRONG! We're hunting him down because he attacked one of us! He's freed prisoners left and right! He's sworn to hunt us down! He's kidnapped several females already! Need I go on?"

"But why?"

"Eh?" Karia wondered what the heck her pseudo-friend was getting to.

Lily took a breath. "Why would he kidnap girls? Why not just eat them or kill them? By the way... Where's the female one?"

Karia shrugged and shook her head. "Honestly. I don't know." The Dark Elf took a look at the fire and just watched it crackle and snap. "No one's seen her for some time now."

Lily nodded. "Well... Why would the Were Smilodon kidnap people? And why does he just stay away from everyone?"

"Probably because he's smart enough to stay away from people that are trying to kill him?" She said, only half sarcastically.

Lily sighed and just relaxed a bit. After a bit she spoke up and looked directly into Karia's eyes. "Let me ask my question... Why has he kidnapped the women? You want to know why? He's lonely."

"...Say what?"

Lily shook her head. "He's lonely Karia. How would you feel if you had to rely on no one but yourself? You'd do what you could to keep people around."

Karia was silent and looked at the fire for a good long while, watching as it snapped angrily into the air, as if sensing Karia's hostility towards the Were Smilodon. "I suppose so. But how can you bring the Were Cheetahs back?"

Lily smirked. "Selective breeding."

Karia groaned. "I should've guessed." Karia then narrowed her eyes at Lily. "Just how are you going to do that though? Remember that rhyme?"

Lily nodded. "Uh huh. Still sends shivers down my spine."

"Well, don't you think that if he knows that we're Weapon Masters that he'll just attack us?"

"Well, there's two of us..."

"And I'm the better fighter between us."

Lily ignored her. "So he probably won't attack us since we outnumber him and are two of the best fighters on Jade. So all we have to do is talk to him about bringing the Werecheetah race back."

Karia looked at her friend like she was an idiot. "Um, I hate to burst your bauble here... But he did break out Weapons Master G'Nolga from prison and now the two are on the same side."

Lily blinked. "Well, you'll just have to stand there and take the blows for me while I try and talk some sense into him."

Karia started to shake her head violently. "Nuh uh, no way, no how! I am NOT doing that... There's no... way... you... can... Darn it!"

Karia dropped her head in defeat as several LEGIONS of evil mutant squirrels and other cute little critters came out of the forest to stand behind Lily. The Amazon Weapons Master smirked. "Well?"

"Fine, fine. I'll do it. But I won't protect you if he get's past me."

"OKAY!" Lily clapped her hands together happily.

 **by Matdeception**

Durpan; A major city of the Western continent located at the uppermost left corner of the continent. Located to the west of this great city is the 'Great Dwarven City"; one of the only town where the story and often sought after mithril ore is mined and forged into many useful and expensive tools used by people all over Jade. Mithral is typically then shipped to Durpan, for selling and distribution making that city one of the true economic tycoons of the world.

Like all major cities, Durpan is a mesh of people all ranging from different religions to beliefs to completely different species. Visiting Durpan one will find themselves quickly immersed within the carrying cultures that all of Jade had to offer, which is why one will find numerous scholars flocking this city in their respective researches.

The Ruling body of Durpan consists of the acclaimed Conclave; A ruling body that helps enforce the Laws of Magic, as well as furthering the always evolving research of the Unknown.

It truly is a wonder of a city.

Theo rubbed sleep from his eyes, tired from the heated discussion raging about the room and between hot headed mages over the possible threat of the smilodon. It had been going on for days, and at the current rate Theo highly suspected it wouldn't end until Doomsday.

"Sirius, we are well aware of the missing women. There is no conflict with this fact..." Dee'm said, rubbing his left ear lobe, "... We simply can not assume the smilodon is the culprit responsible for this act."

Sirius was a High Elven mage of the mind, a powerful man in his own right. He had served on the council for the better part of 50 years, and though often times he was considered a wise and benevolent voice within the order, he had started to become a voice of illogical reason and homicidal madness since his daughter, Syliva, had turned up missing. Not that anyone blamed him, but it made any of his statements highly suspect.

"I'm not a fool, "Dee'm. It can't be mere coincidence he chose of all people to take my daughter captive when he did. He had ample opportunity to kidnap any number of others. I tell you, all of you, this threat is more dangerous than you realise." Sirius finished in a snap, slamming his fist down loudly.

The hated being here, listening to the similar arguments. He hated listening to the constant bickering that lead to nowhere. As it was, he was only waiting for Julia to show up. Hopefully, she had come up with something to finally end this madness.

Outside the Conclave meeting...

Julia rubbed her eyes. Jumping dimensions always made them itch. "Everyone okay?"

"Yeah Mom." Gina rubbed her butt where she had fallen, "Damn it Seance! Couldn't you have 'ported us somewhere with a softer ground?" she patted the hard cobble stone, "Like silk pillow soft?"

Seance chuckled weakly, "Sorry Gina."

Nodoka smoothed her large kimono, "Hai Digger-san."

"So... what now?" Brittany asked, chewing on her lower lip nervously as she eyed the empty stone and marble Antechamber the group had appeared in. She didn't like unfamiliar places very much, and she liked this situation even less. A piece of her heritage was being hunted by people she knew, and in her own way loved. She didn't know whether to be furious or depressed about it.

Julia blinked, clearing the last of her blurry vision before glancing about the room curiously. "Good, Antechamber of the Conclave." she said as she moved to a set of rather imposing doors settled at the far end of the room.

Every single conversation in the room died when the doors were kicked open, a small group of people making their way in as if they owned the place.

Julia stepped forward from the group, Seance slinking off to the side and returning to Theo. "Honored Mages... I believe it's time we have a talk."

Theo had to restrain a relieved smile when his wife rudely took control of the room. He knew she wouldn't be very pleased with the orders she had been given concerning the Smilodon. Of course, it wasn't really an order, more like a request, but when it came from the Conclave she might as well have considered it an order.

Not that it mattered. She was the Armsmasters, and so long as she didn't break the code the office held she was beyond the law. "Ah, welcome." he said with a grin, continuing when no one stepped forward. "I take it you have something to bring before this Conclave, Honored Armsmaster?"

Julia spared Theo a glance, before nodding. "I have come as this Conclave summoned." Bugue looked ready to say something, but Julia waved his comment off with a cruel snarl, "I know what you want, and I can't allow it."

The Chamber did erupt then, arguments streaming by so fast Theo couldn't make hide nor hare of it.

Julia waited until the volume had dimmed some what before continuing. She pointedly looked at Gniess, "Tell me, Gniess. Nearly twenty years ago you and the entire Conclave passed a decree that all with were-cheetah blood would be protected to the best of this Conclaves ability, so that no harm should befall the weakened raced. So that it could continue, and not be forever snuffed out."

Theo wondered what the hell Julia was getting at. The whole reason that Law existed was because she herself, with his help, had pushed for it to get passed so Brittany would be that much safer should someone threaten to destroy her. Just what is she...

Theo blinked, noticing for the first time the presence of another were-cheetah in the group Julia had arrived with. Who the heck was that?

Gniess coughed irritably, but nodded, "Yes, that is true. I fail to see how this pertains to the smilodon threat. Perhaps you could..." he sneered a bit, urged on by his pride. He would not admit he was wrong! ".. enlighten us as to the relevance?"

Julia grinned, stepping around the room in a slow confidant gait, her grin growing colder as she spoke. "The smilodon you fear, hunt and hate is under the protection of the very Conclave who has ordered it's death, dear Gniess. You see.." she motioned to the older were-cheetah, ".. This is Nodoka Saotome, Ranma Saotome's mother!"

Gniess spared the were-cheetah a glance, honestly surprised there was another one, but he shrugged nonetheless. "Good for Ranma Saotome." he had a sick feeling Julia was about to drop a bomb on him.

"Yes, yes indeed. Ranma Saotome is part were-cheetah... and parth smilodon."

Silence descended into the room as people began to make the connection with the smilodon threat, and the fact Julia brought forth that law.

"You've gotta be shitting me!' Theo nearly shouted, which caused Bugie, Gniess, Dee'm, Balthazar, and even Julia to blink at him in shock.

G'nolga hissed as she descended into the blistering hot water, enjoying the slight uncomfortable agony of nearly searing water splashing against her skin.

Rook was a bastard. Everyone knew, and accepted this fact. He was undead, much like everything else in his god forsaken castle, which wasn't a surprise. Thus, they had little need for Hot baths, deodorant, food, or any number of things.

Which is why G'nolga had been moderately surprised to discover a hot pond located in the courtyard of his castle. Of course, she realized she probably had peepers watching her even now, but she really didn't give a damn about them.

Ducking under the water to wet her hair, G'nolga emerged from the steamy water with a satisfied gasp, glad for the chance to wipe away the sweat and sticky fluid rubbed all over her body from her coitus with Ranma earlier.

"G'nolga?"

The dwarf turned slowly to the voice, a questioning eyebrow raising when she spied the purple haired woman known as Jane. "Jane."

"Ah.." the woman was always so sure of herself, always seemed to be in control of her situation and of that little bratty dragon Six. So G'nolga was quick surprised to see a despondent and dejected look about the woman. "Can I join you?" she asked, looking at the water longingly.

G'nolga shrugged, falling back into the water, "Be my guest." she grunted.

"G'nolga?"

"What?" the shorter woman snorted, leaning up against the side of the pond.

"What.." Jane started, before sighing, "What was it like with Ranma?" she didn't blush, in fact she looked scared about something.

G'nolga wasn't a bashful person, not by a long shot. She was, however, highly uneducated in the pleasures of the flesh, and thus could only tell the Dragon the truth as she saw it. "He's the best lay I've ever had."

"Really?" Jane gulped, suddenly looking back towards the castle with narrowed eyes.

"Yes, really."

Silence erupted between the two for abit, until G'nolga realized.. "Hey Jane, where's that brat at? I thought she never left your side."

Jane snapped around, splashing the dwarf by accident, "Ah.. she's.. busy.." she mumbled with a demure blush growing on her cheeks.

"Oh? Are you two..." G'nolga eyed the girl questioningly.

".. Uh.. 'Are we' what?"

"Lovers?" G'nolga bit out snidely.

"What!" Jane screeched, eyes widening in shock that anyone could even suggest such a thing to her. "I would never be caught dead with that girl like that!"

G'nolga shrugged, "Whatever." and promptly lost interest. That Jane had something for Six, that much was obvious even to her. But what, she really didn't know.

 **by Matdeception**

"How long are they going to take?" Brittany grumbled from where she sat, in the Antechamber where they had appeared first. While she, and Nodoka obviously wanted to stay in the room to hear the final say in the matter concerning Ranma, the mages had demanded a certain sense of protocol be maintained.

Nodoka snorted, fingering the sheathed Katana in her lap as she nervously bounced one knee, "I don't know."

"Who knows sis, mom look damn serious about it, but those old guys looked serious too." Gina supplied, squeezing her sister's hand. She knew her sister was nervous, angry, desperate, spiteful, and mean right now. It amazed her how her sister could go through such emotional mood swings, but she had long since grown accustomed to them.

"Excuse me?" the three women blinked, looking at the owner of the new voice. A short human girl with dazzling red hair and freckles dressed in long blue robes. "My name is Aura, It was requested of me to show you ladies to some living quarters while the Conclave is in session."

Nodoka sighed, standing too her feet, "Very well. I assume because they are giving us rooms, it is going to take a very long time for them to reach a final conclusion?"

Aura sweated slightly, "Ah.. sorry. It's the way things are done."

The next day..

Rook looked at all those who had gathered, before chuckling, "Well... let's get to the point then."

Ranma nodded nervously, occasionally taking glances at G'nolga and Six. He out right ignored Jane, who had been giving him murderous glares since she caught him and Six in the act. He didn't have to ignore Tanya, she seemed entirely preoccupied with something else. Still, when she did look at him, she seemed rather forlorn. "Ah, yeah. So, uh. Rook? Whats up?"

G'nolga had felt the tension in the air almost immediately. She would need to have a talk with that boy, he seemed to be upset and lost about what they had done. "Great.." she wasn't the talky feely type, so talking to Ranma about what they had done was going to prove to be a big problem.

"Well, I was wondering if you could perform a small.. favor for me." Rook said, leaning back in his chair and gazing directly at the boy.

"What?" Ranma drawled.

"There are certain people being held against their will within a prison of sorts to the south. Now.."

"Sure." Ranma shrugged.

"What?" Rook blinked in slight shock. There was no way it could be that easy, could it?

"You want me to break out some of your buddies from Jail." he snorted, glaring at the thing, "You suck at manipulating, y'know that right? Nabiki would eat your dead ass for lunch." Ranma gave the others a glance, before returning his gaze to Rook.

"Look, Rook. I'll do this for you, but not right now. I need a few weeks to take care of some things, y'know? Keep promises I made and all that."

"Ah.. how much time, is that? What's the problem?" Rook asked. While he wasn't in any hurry to break out certain individuals from Jail, he at least needed a reason to give Natasha for the delay. Besides, this would give him some more time to figure out his boss's interest in the Smilodon, whatever the heck it might be.

"Few weeks?" he looked at G'nolga.

"What, boy?" She glared right back.

"Few weeks to get you back in tip top shape, G'nolga!" Ranma rolled his eyes, "You've been in prison for a year, I felt a lot of your body last night, remember? You were becoming pudgy.."

"What did you say!?" G'nolga snarled, jumping out of her seat in preparation for kicking the boy's ass.

Rook chuckled despite himself, "Well G'nolga, you did ride him last night."

"Look G'nolga." Ranma began, glaring at the dwarf in return, "I promised you I would help you defeat Julia Diggers in a fair and clean fight. Your skills have degraded some in this last year, and don't you try to deny it none! You ain't foolin no one!"

"Boy, I'm going to make you eat those words!" G'nolga snarled, before breaking eye contact with the boy by turning her head and staring at the floor. Damn that boy! Did he have to bring up their night together? She wasn't bashful in the least, but he had called her pudgy!

"Thirty-Eight!" Six whined, hugging onto the girl sleepily, "Do we have to be here! I'm soooo tired and sore!"

Jane snapped suddenly, ripped from her thoughts about a certain pigtailed boy and him sleeping with someone she considered her responsibility, "You shouldn't have fucked Ranma then! You know how you get!"

Ranma blushed, turning to Rook again and missing the glare from G'nolga. "And Rook."

Rook blinked, "Yeah?"

"Don't you think for a moment I came here and I'm doing this favor for you." he shrugged, "I came here for Hanza's sake mostly." he pushed away from the table, and left the room, quickly followed by G'nolga who looked ready to kill the boy.

"Tanya." Rook called out before the girl could leave the room.

"What now, Rook?" the Kryn glared back.

Rook chuckled, before shrugging, "Just thought I'd let you know. The Diggers are in Durpan right now. Theodore, Julia, Gina... Brittany.."

"Your point?"

"Strype is nearly all alone on Earth for the time being.. just that gender bender and that slut there... just thought I'd let you know." he said with a final shrug, before vanishing in a pillar of flame, teleporting somewhere else.

 **by Red Priest of the 17th Order**

Staring intently at the spot that Rook had stood shortly before vanishing, the ex-High Priestess internally seethed. Tanya knew that the undead bastard was just trying to goad her into doing something, to manipulate her for some reason that only he knew...

And for some reason, she actually felt like indulging the undead bastard... AND herself in a little endeavor, thanks to the information that Rook had dropped in her lap.

But that left another question. Should Tanya do this? She knew there was no way in hell that Stryyp would just be with her. As much as she hated to admit it, her Prince's heart belonged only to the bouncy, big-breasted bimbo.

And still another question ached in the Kryn's heart... Did Tanya even still WANT Stryyp? She went through so much trouble to try and reclaim the love of her life the last numerous times. Being shrunk, being made a pet, being made a fool of, being beaten, and being imprisoned. All these outcomes, all these trials, and NOTHING to show for it.

Yep, Tanya knew that she had gone through a lot of shit. Any lesser person would have given up after being shrunk down to five inches, but not her! "And that why I have more headaches to show for it," Tanya thought sadly.

And still. What reason did she still have to follow a veritable pipedream? There were other people out there! Tanya knew it! There was Ran-MANY OTHER MALE SPECIMENS! Yeah, that's it! Tanya knew she wasn't getting any younger so it was time to find some nice male specimen besides Stryyp. She couldn't just spend her time pining over someone out of her reach...

...But could she just put it all behind her? Could she honestly put Stryyp behind her? Could she act like the past twenty-five years of her life were a total lie!?

Sighing, Tanya knew her heart was weighed. On one side, Stryyp, on the other side, Ranma possibly some other man who she could love, yeah, that's it. Really! She had no one specific in mind. Nope! As long as she was happy.

"Hmm... But I still have my project," Tanya thought bitterly. Since she had her run-in with Ranma after the pervert had had his way with Tanya, the Kryn had felt confused. She thought at that time that she had to do anything she could to get Stryyp. Or put him behind her. Or both.

That was why she spent all her time in the Alchemy lab of Rook's castle. It wasn't too much to push some of the undead zombies with magical potential inside, and it was a real pain-in-the-ass to shoo out the perverted skeletons that were hiding in the cauldron, but Tanya finally had a place to work. And, much to Tanya's surprise, after taking in inventory of what that bastard was stocked up on, Tanya could see there was quite a bit to work with.

And that was when Tanya had started work on the item. One that she knew would help make Stryyp more... 'Agreeable' to seeing things her way.

"Basically a lust potion that would make him so horny, who wouldn't care who he was fucking as long as he got off," Tanya thought irritably. She would have tried this before, but some of the ingredients needed were not in her collection or available to her at the time. "Who knew that Rook had a jar of Care Bear hearts, Red Dragon toenail clippings, and the rarest of all elements, Green M&M's?"

Thanks to the 'generously donated' ingredients from Rook's Alchemy lab, the potion was brewed, but Tanya knew she had to let it sit for a few days for it to be complete. Depending on how long she let it sit, it's effects would last anywhere from a simple screw, a few hours, a day, or even a few days!

And even better, she could sue this soon! The man who should have been her husband would be mostly alone. All she had to do was take care of that damned Rakshasa and that slut who was half the bimbo, and half the whiny blonde bitch.

But that left the question. Who could she get to help her?

(-)

The former Wyrm looked over the Kryn with a critical eye. Thirty, er, Jane could tell possibly hundreds of thousands of things were going on in Tanya's head all at once. "And it more than likely has to do with the 'Stryyp' person," Jane thought. "But that name... Why does it sound so familiar to me?"

Schooling her features in thought, Jane had to think about it for a moment. It was then that the truth hit her like a sack full of bricks. She remembered a cat-man who had tiger-patterned fur, who wasn't a werecat. She had seen him at the Archaeologist Society's Banquet Hall, AND again a few days later when he had assisted Gina Diggers in Uhm Di Turrok, the Halls of the Extremely Dead. "And he was called 'Stryyp'."

Jane wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all. It seems this group of Misfits really was entwined in more ways than on. She was about to ask the Kryn what she planned to do about this turn of events, when the woman just picked up and left the room without a word. "Probably to do some planning," Jane thought critically.

The former Wyrm was taken out of her thoughts when she heard a yawn and felt a tug at her shoulder. "Mmm... Thirty-Eight," the former Drake began, causing Jane's eye to twitch, "Can we go to bed now? I'm really tired."

Frowning, Jane sighed. Goddamn, this girl was more trouble than she was worth at times. "All right, fine. We'll get you to bed," Jane answered.

But Jane didn't get a response back. Six was already asleep as she leaned against Jane. Sighing, Jane wrapped an arm around Six and pat the former drake's shoulder. "You ditz," She mumbled.

(-)

In a darkened room, Rook stood by his communication crystal. The image of Natasha could be seen in it rather easily.

Hell, it was such 'crystal clear' reception, he could see she was sitting on her throne and getting a manicure by one of those former secretaries, Maharet, Rook thought her name was. Damn, she was a fine piece of ass, (too bad he couldn't get her to give him the time of day. No blood, no love.)

"So, Rook," Natasha asked as she looked intently at her undead minion. "How has the smilodon been since he's been staying at your place?"

"Fine, I suppose," Rook said. He then answered irritably, "Although the bastard's been getting more sex in the past twenty-four hours than I have in the past twenty four years!"

Natasha smirked. "It's to be expected. He looks to be quite the specimen indeed."

"Yeah, yeah," Rook said irritably. "All I know is, is he did agree to help me save some acquaintances of mine that are currently imprisoned."

"Really?" Natasha asked. "When will it take place?"

"Three weeks," Rook answered plainly.

"Oh?" Natasha asked. She then frowned and stared at Maharet. "If you break another nail, I'm personally putting a stake through your heart."

"Sorry, Mistress," the vampire apologized quickly before going back to trying and fix her mistake.

"As I was about to say," Natasha started. "Why so long?"

With a smirk on his face that Natasha couldn't see, Rook answered, "He wants to retrain G'nolga. He said she was getting 'pudgy'."

"Ouch," Natasha said in sympathy

Nodding his head, Rook answered, "Indeed."

(-)

"OW! MY ARM IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BEND THAT WAY!" Ranma cried out in sheer pain as his left arm bent backwards at the elbow, thanks to an elbow-strike from a certain pudgy truly-fit and healthy Dwarven Weapons Master.

Growling at the sheer pain he felt, and in annoyance at the dwarf's condescending smirk, Ranma shifted to his hybrid form. This automatically caused his super regenerative abilities to go into effect.

Snapping his arm into place to allow it to heal correctly, Ranma lunged forward with his other arm. Grabbing G'nolga by her hair, he slammed her ass around the place before tossing her like a shot put. "Lesson One in Anything Goes, you bitch!" Ranma spat out angrily. "ANYTHING GOES!"

Glaring hatefully at the were smilodon who had just tossed her about like a ragdoll, G'nolga grunted and got back to her feet. Maybe she should cut her hair... After she tore this bastard's fangs out! "DIE!"

At hearing that certain 'word of love', which had been repeated by many a fiancées all his life, Ranma sighed a moment before G'nolga lunged out into an attack. "Just don't come crawling to me for sex after this! I need to frikin' sleep, damnit!"

 **by Matdeception**

"Look, G'nolga." Ranma snapped, glaring at the shorter woman. "I'm sorry for calling you all pudgy and stuff when it ain't true. But did you have to kill that pudgy chicken lookin thing? It was just minding it's own damn business!"

"Pfeh. Shut up." G'nolga grumbled.

"Damn, what the heck is the matter with you, anyway?" Ranma watched the woman leaving the room where they had spent the last five hours kicking the shit out of each other. He was very thankful no sex came from it; he was still tired from Six's rather exuberant expression of lust.

"Boy, I've been training my whole life to be the best. I don't need a pup telling me I'm getting weak!" G'nolga snarled back over her shoulder, "Don't you dare think you can tell me what to do because I decided to have sex with you. No one orders me around." she bit hopefully before leaving the room.

Ranma blinked as she left. She thought he was ordering her around because of that? That had to be the stupidest thing he had ever heard of! He may feel a little protective of the woman from time to time, but the last thing he'd want to do was make her think he thought she belonged to him because of that night. "Pfeh, this sucks."

Tanya sighed as she walked through the walls, searching for the pigtailed boy who had promised to help her get her revenge. She had thought about this long and hard, whether to include Ranma in her plans to bury her past with Strype, and no matter how hard she thought about it she didn't think she could handle that gender bending Genn, the slut Brianna, and Strype if they all tried to gang up on her.

Thoughts of asking G'nolga to help were quickly discarded. That dwarf didn't want anything to do with her revenge; she was only focused on getting at Julia, oh, and kicking Ranma's ass for calling her weak. She ruthlessly suppressed all thoughts of that dwarf kicking the boy's ass in other ways.

Asking Rook for help was a thought that died a quick painful death. She'd rather go back to Sanctuary and get raped by the troll bitch Marsha then ask that bastard for help in this. He'd probably mess everything up anyway.

Which left the Dragon sluts and Ranma. Checking on Jane and Six, she had quickly rubbed out any thoughts of involving those two in her scheme. Jane might be of some help, but she just knew Six would do something to mess everything up even worse then Rook would.

Which, of course, left Ranma. The bastard she was starting to both hate, and harbor feelings for. She could admit that to herself, at least since she really started thinking about burying the past with Strype and that bimbo. He had promised to help her get revenge against those who hurt her in exchange for she helping him against the weapon masters and that whore Julia.

Tanya stopped at the doorway where she had last seen Ranma and G'nolga fighting, only to find Ranma performing one of his combat kata's alone in the room and seemingly oblivious to the rest of his surroundings.

But.. she was hesitant to ask him. She realized he didn't like her situation, pining after a man that had fallen in love with another woman. She didn't know how, or why, but she suspected something about her situation reminded the young man about his own past, a past she had never been privy too.

Steeling herself, Tanya walked into the room.

"Ranma."

Ranma stopped his practice, giving the owner of the voice a glance before nodding with a smile, "Hey Tanya! What's up? Here to practice some?"

"Ah.." Tanya hesitated, before walking purposely towards the boy, "No. Look, Ranma, there's something we need to talk about. I need your help."

"Ah.. okay." Ranma shrugged, picking up a towel and scrubbing some sweat from his brow, "What's on your mind?"

"I've decided to bury my past, like you said."

"Oh? Cool." Ranma nodded glad for his friend. Maybe now she could get on with her life.

"There's someone I need to.. see.. one more time before I can do that though." Tanya steeled herself and locked eyes on the boy. "I need your help with this."

Ranma nodded, surprised by the sincere determination in the woman's eyes, "Uh, okay? I said I'd help you when I busted yah out of Sanctuary right? I keep my promises, especially when I make them with friends."

"Thanks.. Ranma." she sighed relieved, that had been easier than she had been expecting.

"So.. what do I have to do?"

"Well.." Tanya tapped her chin thoughtfully, "Were going to have to make a trip to Earth. I'll need you to run 'guard' for me while I talk to him. At the most there should only be two or three people trying to stop me from doing this. Can you help me with those?"

"Eh, sure I suppose." Ranma nodded, before responding confused, "Earth? How the heck are we supposed to get there? I thought once you got to Jade, you were stuck here?"

"Ah.. not quite." Tanya replied, "If you don't have the power to cross the dimensional veil, I suppose it could be difficult to return to Earth, but we shouldn't have a problem with that. Rook's got some scrolls to the Earth realm, and I know the coordinates of where we need to be."

"Ah, cool. When do you want to do this, then?"

"In a few days, I should have everything ready." Tanya replied cryptically; hinting at the fact she was hiding something important, which Ranma completely missed.

"Cool."

 **by Philip Weigel**

Karia groaned as she got up and stretched. As she looked about, she saw that the campfire had gone out last night and that the blonde haired, over endowed, bimbo of an Amazon had crawled up beside her for warmth. Karia stretched her back a bit and a few popping noises were heard. She winced as she remembered that sleeping last night was NOT fun. 'Especially with someone who kicks all night long.' Karia gave a glare to the blonde, who simply rolled over. Karia sighed, irritably as she looked at the blonde's naked form. "But Karia, I don't like sleeping in my clothes! But Karia, it'll be cold, let us sleep in the same blankets." The Dark Elf Warmage muttered to herself. 'That fool kicks harder asleep than what she does when she's awake.'

She shook her head and went to where some bushes where since there was a stream on the other side. As she walked to the river, she heard a noise that sounded quite peculiar.

"OH MAMA!"

"Eh?" Karia stood still and nervously raised an eyebrow. 'What the hell?' The Dark Elf listened closer to figure out what was going on and who was speaking.

"SWEETO! LOOK AT THAT! OH MAMA!" An old voice yelled out.

Karia looked around nervously and decided to go and kick gently nudge Weapons Master Lily into waking up. Karia may be a Weapons Master herself, but the beating that those Evil Mutant Squirrels gave her yesterday, she didn't want to take any chances.

(-)

A few minutes later the two Weapons Masters walked to the edge of the shrubs surrounded by trees and looked down to see a small, wrinkled, bald figure in some brown clothes looking at some magazines. "Oh mama! Just HOW do they get so many replicas of each person down pat?"

Ecchi sneezed, wondering what the heck was up with her allergies lately.

The director spoke up. "Okay Ecchi! You can change forms now. Be any form you want."

The Raksasha nodded and thought about it. She then grinned and changed into what she thought would be a sexy form. She gained a couple of feet, some muscles, black fur, her bust size going up from a size C-cup to a DD-cup and a set of cute fangs and posed. "Ready!" Ecchi then blinked as everyone deserted the set. "But I thought this form would be sexy. Darn it!" The Raksasha-turned-Smilodon pouted as she put her hands on her hips.

Karia blinked curiously as she leaned forward. "Lily, do you know who that is?"

Lily shuddered. "It's a Gnome. Squirrels attack!"

"I know it's a Gnome, but I wanted to know just who... that... was..." Karia stared in disbelief as the Gnome was attacked by a wave of squirrels and carried out of the area. "I don't believe it."

Lily giggled.

 **by Philip Weigel**

A few days later...

Ranma yawned as he sat on Six's back as the flying orange Dragon flew him back to Trine. 'Or is it Trinc? Blasted maps!' He shook his head and wondered, not for the first time, if going back to Trine, Trinc, WHATEVER, was such a good idea. Leaning up to the former Drake's neck Ranma called out to her. "Do you honestly think this is a good idea Six?!"

The Dragon turned to look at Ranma, dressed in a pair of boots, some green pants that would stretch in case he needed to go to hybrid form and a black shirt under a brown cloak. "Yep. You're practically the only one in the group that can. I could, but Jane said it was better for you to do it."

Ranma nodded, turned a bit on Six's back, leaned against her neck and thought about just how he had gotten here. "Why am I doing this again?"

"Because no one knows that your human form is also the Were Smilodon Ranma."

"... Good point." Ranma had to shake his head at the Dragon, at times she was the most immature person around, other times she acted like she knew more than anyone else. 'I can't BELIEVE that I was talked into this.'

Flashback to yesterday...

Tanya, dressed in a conservative green dress, came up to Ranma. "Say Ranma?"

The martial artist turned to look at the black and white cat-woman, he was just dressed in some black pants and couldn't figure out why Tanya was a bit flustered. "What's up Tanya?"

"Well," she began looking into his eyes, "I noticed that there isn't a lot of hygiene in this place for women." She took a breath and gestured to the whole area in which Ranma was practicing, which was a clearing not too far from the hot springs. "There's places to get cleaned up around here... But not enough things around for us women to clean ourselves effectively. And I was hoping that you could go buy some for us?"

Ranma sat down, nodded and thought about it. "I suppose you're right. But why me? I mean, I'm not exactly liked in the cities am I?"

Tanya nodded. "Well, no, you may not be... But you've got an advantage over the rest of us."

Ranma scratched his head and looked at the furry woman. "What do you mean?"

Tanya sighed. "Idiot. Listen, no one really knows your hybrid form and your human form are one and the same."

Ranma blinked and thought about it. "But they really aren't."

Tanya sighed irritably. "Fool! No one knows that you, in your human form, are the Were Smilodon because you look so much different between the two forms."

"Oh." Ranma thought about it and nodded, he really did look different between his two forms. He sighed and nodded. "Okay, okay. Just come up with a list with what ya and the others need and I'll see about getting' you some stuff."

Tanya smiled gratefully. "Thanks Ranma." She then turned and ran off.

Ranma cocked his head to the side and watched Tanya's rump swing back and forth lightly. He licked his lips and then shook his head. 'She's still pining after some guy. I'm not going to do anything right now.'

End Flashback...

Ranma shook his head as Six landed only a Kilometre from Trine. He hopped off of her and waited for her to change back. When she did, she was in her brown and yellow clothes, just with a brown cloak over her that concealed her features.

Six blinked at Ranma, wondering what was wrong. She looked at herself and didn't see anything wrong about what she was wearing, brown and yellow pants, shirt that was the same color as her pants, and her brown gloves with the yellow hearts in the center. "What's wrong? Is it my hair?"

Ranma shook his head. "Ah, no. I was just wondering how you do that."

Six blinked. "Do what?" She didn't think she was doing anything special.

"Um, how do you get your clothes to disappear and reappear like that when you change forms?"

"Oh that. HAHAHAHA! Well, you see, it's Dragon magic. Because of my Dragon's blood, I can send my clothes away when I don't need them, like when I change forms, and when I need them, they come right back. It's instant."

Ranma scratched his head and looked up a bit. "So if you were naked and turned into a Dragon, you'd have clothes when you changed back?"

Six blushed and shook her head. "Ah, no. When I change my clothes disappear and then reappear when I need them to. But if I was naked when I went Dragon, then I'd be naked when I returned to my human form."

"Oh, okay."

 **by Philip Weigel**

Ranma sat down in a small Tavern, a couple of hours later, at a table and signaled the barkeep. When the creature got over to him he spoke. "Some water please."

The creature snorted and went to get some water for the punk.

Ranma looked around and saw that the place wasn't too bad, fashioned a bit like one of those American bars from the old west like in those movies. Looking around he saw just a few patrons, some Dwarves, a Troll, and what had to be the LARGEST elderly lady he had ever met. He looked her over, she looked to be at least eight, maybe closer to nine, feet tall, legs that were thicker than some trees, arms that were nearly as thick, she was wearing a breastplate over her front that looked to be decent protection, her skirt went halfway down her calves, she had a horned helmet on her head and a BAA (Big Ass Axe) sitting by her.

Ranma frowned. 'What's up with all the silver anyway?' He shook his head and nodded to the barkeep as he came back with his water. Giving the creature the amount needed, he listened in around him and choked a bit when he heard Mumsey speak up.

"That rassin frassin, Smilodon. Who does he think he is to hurt MY husband? When I get ahold of him I'll make him wish that he was never born."

Ranma frowned at those words. He didn't recall coming across a giant old man that could be her husband and beating him. 'Great! I bet someone beat up her husband and put the blame on me.' He turned to his left, where a female Jagwere was sitting down. The woman was tall, roughly six-foot-eleven, wearing a nice dress that accented her rather, buxom figure nicely. "Excuse me?"

The woman turned to look at him, her boyfriend, a Werepanther, frowned at Ranma speaking to his girl, but didn't say anything. "Yes? Can I help you?"

Ranma nodded and pointed at Mumsey. "Can you tell me who she is?"

The woman nodded. "Of course. She's Mumsey Brigand, one of the ten Weapons Masters of Jade and probably the meanest, nastiest fighter around. I hear that she's married to another Weapon Master and that her daughter is the Armsmaster."

Ranma blinked, stirring that information around in his head. "REALLY? Well thank you."

The woman nodded and turned back to her boyfriend. "Oh stop it Jake. He meant no harm."

Jake nodded. "I hear you Kate."

Ranma stirred that information around in his head. 'If she's related to the Armsmaster, then beating her will get that self-righteous bitch to come out of hiding.' It may be a bit soon for G'Nolga to fight Julia, but all he had to do after beating the older woman was lay low for a bit until G'Nolga was ready to fight. He smirked. 'This should work out perfectly.' He then signaled the barkeep for a piece of paper and something to write with. While his handwriting sucked, he figured that he could get the message across well enough.

(-)

Mumsey Brigand sat at the counter of the bar, to say she was upset would be an understatement. She had come to Trine to look for the Were Smilodon since this was the last place that he was seen. She had only gotten here a few hours ago, only to run into Karia and Lily, who told her that he wasn't here. The two of them were going to be leaving town soon, but Mumsey, upset with not getting here sooner, had gone to the Tavern to get something to drink to drown her sorrows.

As she drank her ale, she grumbled. 'Stupid Were Smilodon! How DARE he hurt my naughty ninja of nookie?! When I get ahold of him, he'll wish that he was never born.'

A voice spoke up from behind her. "You Mrs. Brigand?"

Mumsey frown and turned around. "Who wants to know?" She blinked upon seeing a whelp who was fairly athletic looking, dressed in a brown cloak, but he didn't look like much. "What do you want?"

Ranma immediately started faking being scared. It wasn't too hard, he just had to remember how he felt, when he was still afraid of cats, around cats, only toned down. "I-I have a, a l,letter for you."

Mumsey frowned and turned her massive body around to face the whelp. "Well? What's wrong?" He looked like he had seen a ghost or something. "Why are you so afraid?"

Ranma shivered and whispered to her. "I g, got it from that, that horrible creature." Actually Ranma was talking about the Bartender, who was a Troll dressed in filthy clothes and hadn't cleaned himself in a while, but let Mumsey draw her own conclusions.

Mumsey's eyes widened and she whispered, mostly to herself. "The Were Smilodon?" She then frowned. "Give me that letter boy."

Ranma nodded and handed her the letter and took off. 'Better get ready, she'll be looking for blood soon.'

Shortly after Ranma ran out of the Tavern, Mumsey stood up to her feet. The Barbarian woman was enraged as she read the letter. "Why that, that ALLEY CAT! I'll show him just why I'm so feared around this place!"

In case one is wondering, the letter read this: So you're one of the pathetic Weapon Masters around here huh? I beat that Ninja easily enough, you're next. By the way... Twinkle, twinkle, eleven in all, one by one, you shall fall, fight or flee, it matters NOT to me, I fight to be free, you fight to defeat me. From your not-so friendly neighborhood Were Smilodon.

Mumsey runs out of Trinc to face the Were Smilodon...

 **by Matdeception**

Ranma closed his eyes, his breath slowing as he reached deep within himself. To the prehistoric heart that had cost him so much, and given him so little in return. It was his gift. It was his curse. It was simply who he was, the part of him he both loathed for the hate it inspired in others, and loved for the purity it held. As his body began to shift, his bones breaking and reforming suddenly as muscles erupted over his form a sudden realization came over him. He had fought against many foes in his life, all wanting a piece of him, or something he had. Be it an unwanted fiancée, better skills in the art, or his love for the fight. Some one always wanted something.

This time, he aimed to give them what they wanted.

The Smilodon!

Mumsey had started to rethink her impulsive move to rush out here and meet the Smilodon threat in combat about ten seconds ago. She was angry, yes, she was furious at the creature for hurting her man.

She wasn't, however, a complete idiot. Tsunami was perhaps one of the best Weapon Masters, only Rhoatan and G'nolga had the chance of defeating Tsunami in personal combat. For the Smilodon to be able to best her Ninja of nookie, he had to be very skilled, or overwhelmingly powerful.

"Maybe I should go find that Karia lass." She mumbled. Two on one odds were better then one on one. She didn't consider Lily as a worthwhile ally. That woman would sooner try and seduce the creature. Damn Amazons.

She froze when a deep, hateful voice echoed in her ears, the sound coming from behind her. "Twinkle, Twinkle. Eleven in all. One by one, you all shall fall. Fight or flee, it matters not to me. I fight to be free, you fight to defeat me."

Mumsey twirled around, swinging her axe around in a blazing arc, hoping to catch the creature by surprise instead of allowing it to finish his god-awful rhyme. Meeting nothing but air, Mumsey blinked before bringing her axe back to the fore.

"Up here."

Mumsey looked up in time to receive a meaty fist to the face. Staggering back from the force of the blow, she swung her axe in a wide arc to ward the creature off long enough for her to get here bearings.

Ranma hit the ground and wasted no time rushing into the woman. He was forced to duck low from her swing, but it wasn't enough to stop the torrent of pain he swore the woman would be feeling soon. Sliding to a stop at her feet, Ranma crouched low and tensed his legs before jumping straight up, claws flashing outward as he slashed the woman vertically along the chest.

Mumsey grunted as a flash of blue light passed by her eyes, along with the claw it was attached to. She staggered back again as her armor suddenly came apart, pain erupting just above her abdomen and leading up to the middle of her breasts as four vicious slashes erupted into being, blood spilling from those wounds.

Ranma flipped back and rolled to the side as Mumsey brought her axe down in retaliation, the ground where the axe hit erupting from the force of the blow. He was a tad to slow to dodge her follow up attack and took a boot to the chest. He grimaced when he heard them crack, stunned by the strength the woman had. That proved to be a mistake when Mumsey followed through with a wicked uppercut.

Flipping back with the inertia of the blow, Ranma cursed himself a fool for leaving himself opened like that. Landing on his feet, Ranma lunged forward directly into her defenses, Mumsey had committed to an overhead strike and was unprepared for the following attack.

"SHINE!" Ranma screamed, his hands burning with blue flames as he unleashed his technique.

Shine, or simply 'Die' was a self discovered Technique by Ranma shortly after his Battle with Tsunami. By utilizing the basics of the Amaguriken, he discovered a way to create small pockets of Chi along his fists each time he pulled back to strike at the woman. The pockets of Chi were left unstable on purpose. Where you had a stable ball of Chi when used in such techniques as the Moko Takabisha, or the Shi Shi Hokudan that acted as a battering Ram, these unstable pockets literally explode upon contact. The benefits to this ability are numerous, but the drawbacks are just as bad. While you cause extensive damage to your opponent, and douse them in 'Ki Flames', the down side is the damage you do to your hands is extensive each and every time these Chi spheres explode.

His arms disappeared completely, the only sign of their passing were faint streamers of glittering blue that appeared each time he launched a fist forward. The sound of bones breaking, anguished screams, and flesh meeting flesh were drowned out by each consecutive blow from his fists, a large sonic boom exploding upon contact and further damaging both defender and attack.

Mumsey shuddered as pain the likes of which she never seen erupted all over her body, the boy's burning Ki fires searing her flesh and breaking the strong bones beneath her skin as if they weren't even there. She could count herself lucky, though. After the first dozen or so hits she could no longer withstand the force of the Smilodon's blows and flew backwards at a fast speed, where she crashed into the ground and dug a trench until the impossible amounts of kinetic force faded away.

Ranma shuddered as his attack went off; wincing each time his fist came into contact with the barbarian weapons master. He knew this attack was risky at best, due to the sheer amount of damage each Chi sphere emitted when it exploded against the body of his enemy, and his own hands.

Falling to his knees as Mumsey flew away, Ranma held his bloody stumps that remained of his hands to his chest, screaming at the pain that flared from his fists before his extraordinary regeneration abilities kicked in. "Holy.. shit!"

Six had been staring at the ocean when the force of the sonic booms reached, the intensity of the blasts dropped her to her knees screaming in agony as her over sensitive ears received the powerful sounds.

She was a dragon, specifically of the air variety. As all flyers know, they tended to rely on their ears heavily to detect subtle changes in the air current to continue their glides. While this wasn't the only way for them to navigate the skies, it was one of their best senses for it.

Small rivulets of blood began to escape her ears as she continued to scream at the agony of suddenly having your brain ignite in unimaginable pain. Slowly, the pain began to subside as her Dragon Blood worked to heal the wounds. Her ears were still ringing, and she doubted she could hear someone yelling at her even if they were only a foot away at the moment.

"Gah.. what was that?!"

Karia snorted, "Lily. I told you a thousand times already. Last report states the smilodon had headed north!

"So?" the bubbly Amazon Breeder pouted. She had wanted to go back to Seer's Hamlet, thinking the Smilodon had just duped everyone into believing he went north so he could cause troubles in the south.

Karia opened her mouth to bitterly snap something about over inflated Bimbos when a pretty little Jagwere appeared from nowhere with a delirious look in her eyes. "Are you the Weapon Masters?! Please! Tell me!"

"Whoa! Calm down girl. Yes, we are. What's the meaning of this." Karia grabbed the woman by the shoulders, holding her steady, as she seemed to be on the verge of nervous shock.

"Tavern!" she shouted, "A boy came into the tavern and gave Weapon Masters Brigand a note! He looked freaked out, like he was about to die right there on the spot."

Lily frowned, "What was on the note?"

The girl stuttered, trying to form the words but seeming unable to actually say it. In the end, she just grabbed the note and thrusted it into Karia's hands.

Karia frowned as she uncurled the crumpled note and began reading. She suddenly stiffened, "Lily! The Smilodon is here!" she hissed.

Lily smiled, "Goodie!" she giggled, bouncing a little too much for Karia's taste, "Now we can convince him to surrender to the Amazon Breeders!"

BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM

Karia startled, "What the heck was that?!"

Mumsey struggled to her feet, wincing as she felt her broken ribs begin to break through the skin. Unable to endure the pain she immediately fell to her knees, a torrent of blood escaping her mouth and splattering over the ground. Ugh, she always hated the sickening copper taste of blood.

Ranma, hands fully healed thanks to his unusual regeneration abilities, calmly walked up to the kneeling weapons master, a vicious snarl on his lips. "Damn! She should be out with all the damage she's taken!" he thought as he ran up to her and grabbed her by the head, before introducing her face to his knee.

A sickening wet snap of bones breaking reached his senses as Mumsey fell backwards, the right side of her jaw erupting in blood as the bone broke through the muscles and skin.

She fell back still, and for a moment Ranma was hoping this was the end of the fight. He didn't want to kill her, and despite the ungodly pain she would be feeling until she could get to a healer, she wasn't in danger of dying yet.

He had to suppress a gasp of disbelief as the woman began to reach for her fallen axe. "You stubborn bitch! Just give up!" Ranma crowded, raising his boot up to kick her in the head.

He never got the chance to connect with the strike, however as a burning Mandala of flame sprung into being and slammed into his back, blasting him forward and away from Mumsey.

Rolling with the sudden attack, Ranma grunted as he hit the ground and flipped to face the asshole that interfered with his fight. A dark elf with long ears and white as snow hair, wearing a stringy one piece that barely conserved any bit of her modesty. "Who the hell are you?"

"Karia." the dark elf spared Mumsey a glance, before sneering as she rushed towards him, lighting crackling from her fingertips as she drew closer to him. Ranma frowned, backstepping as the girl got closer. She was up to something, but he couldn't figure out what.

"BLIND FLARE!" The Dark elf brought her hands together when she reached ten feet from the boy, a large flash of light erupting from her hands and blanketing the entire area in its luminance.

Ranma grunted. He hadn't been able to cover his eyes in time to avoid the attack. He looked around blearily, only able to see small shapes of varying color in his vision. He knew Karia would push the attack now that she had him at a disadvantage, and he swore if he got out of this alive he'd step up his blind fighting training.

Karia was planning no such attack. Mumsey, on the other hand, was. having grabbed hold of her axe, she began focusing her energies into the blade itself. The edge of the blade began to hum as a gold arc of light started to surround the weapon. When she was ready, she pulled back and flung the axe at the stumbling were-smilodon.

Karia had backed off and was preparing to subdue the creature. No, it wasn't for Lily to get her grubby little hands, nor was it for any Good Samaritan reasons. It was for vanity and pride. Capture the creature that so many had failed to? It would be more then a boost to her pride, but a huge jump to her popularity. She never god her chance though as a shimmering axe flew past her directly at the smilodon

Ranma's vision cleared just in time for him to see Mumsey's shimmering axe slammed into his chest, passing right through bone and muscle and flinging him a good twenty feet back where he fell, motionless with large amounts of blood pooling around his body.

"NOOOOO!" Lily had arrived just in time to see the smilodon take the deathblow to the chest.

Karia grimaced, watching in sick fascination as the creature stopped moving completely, dead. "Shit."

Mumsey would say something, but her broken jaw wasn't any help in this matter. She was glad, extremely so that the bastard had fallen, and to her blade no less!

Lily ran up to the body and fell to her knees, checking for life signs. She didn't have much hope; it was obvious the axe had cut right into his chest, most likely piercing the creature's heart. She knew there was silver on the weapon, too."Mumsey you idiot!" Lily screamed as the bloodied giant warrior struggled to her feet.

Mumsey rolled her eyes, and then winced as vertigo set in. Ugh, she wasn't in the best of conditions.

"Lily.. get away from that body." Karia suddenly shouted, backing up as she watched the impossible take place.

Lily blinked, before turning back to the body.

Ranma reached up and ripped the axe out of his chest, the wound exploding in bright flames before vanishing altogether. He didn't know what the hell had just happened, but was thankful for it. He sure as heck wasn't supposed to survive that blow.

Falling on her butt and backing away from the Smilodon, Lily stared in shock as the creature rose to his feet, gripping Mumsey's bloody axe in his hand.

 **by Matdeception**

Ranma lifted the bloody axe in one hand, pointing it at Karia and Mumsey, "You two, are going down." he snarled as his aura suddenly exploded around him, before vanishing along with him.

Karia's eyes widened when the smilodon had vanished. If he had used magic, she would have been at least able to sense his general location, since she knew what she had to look for. But.. she couldn't sense anything! Well.. not until Ranma made his move.

Ranma snarled as he appeared, slamming the flat end of the battle-axe against Karia's head, the blow sending her to the floor. Rearing up while the dark elf was recovering from the blow, he threw the axe back at Mumsey. The wounded barbarian made a vain attempt to dodge the deadly blade, but fell short when the pommel of the axe slammed into her temple, giving her a concussion and knocking her out.

Karia struggled to her knees; the blow Ranma had dealt her left her seeing nothing but stares. She screamed when the beast grabbed her by the neck, claws digging into her skin painfully before he slammed her face first into the ground over and over and over and over and over again until her face was just a bloody mess and she lost consciousness.

Dropping the elf to the floor, he reared back and viciously kicked her in the ribs, blasting her a good five feet away by the sheer strength of his blow. Glaring at the elf, he spit at her down body before turning to the pink haired woman he didn't recognize. "Now for you."

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRR" Ranma winced as Six in full dragon form swooped down from the sky, barely managing to sidestep her landing pad before becoming squashed Smilodon.

"Shit! Six!" Ranma hissed when the Dragon turned a glare on him. She was a helluva lot more intimidating in Dragon form. Heck, he almost didn't equate the smaller excitable girl for this monstrous beast.

"RRRRRRANNNNNNMMMMMAAA!" Six screamed. She wasn't happy, not one bit. Stalking up to boy, she glared, "You're in going to get it when we get home!"

Ranma chuckled, scratching the back of his head nervously, "Hey.. didn't mean to worry you none." he pointed to Mumsey and Karia, "I kicked those weapon masters asses!"

Six looked over the bloodied and broken bodies, before nodding in appreciation. She was about to say something when she noticed a pink haired bimbo trying to sneak away. Lashing out, Six pinned the girl under her claw, "Who the hell are you!" She growled, zooming up on the pink haired Amazon.

"Eep! Ah! No body!" She squeaked, hoping they would buy that. Six turned her glare to Ranma as he approached, "Out claiming more women, Ranma?" she sounded thoroughly upset about that notion for some reason.

Ranma blinked, "Like hell! She was here when that bitch.." he motioned to Mumsey ".. nearly killed me! I don't know who she is!" Geesh. What is it with him and possessive women?

Six grinned cruelly, "Then you won't care if I kill her?"

Ranma blinked, before staring at the Dragon like she was crazy.

Lily eeped, "No! I'll tell you everything! Seriously! Just don't kill me!"

Six pressed down harder, causing Lily to gasp as more breath escaped her lungs, "Who are you."

"Lily, Head Amazon Breeder."

Ranma grumbled, "Amazon's here? Geesh. I'll never get a break." he then stiffened, "Whoa.. she's a weapons master?" He had heard of Lily before, though he never actually met her before today. People were usually tight lipped about her appearance for one reason or another.

Six snarled, "What are you doing here?"

"I came with Karia! I wanted to convince the Smilodon to return with me!"

"What the heck for?" Ranma asked, confused.

"Ah.. breeding your Were-cheetah half." Lily admitted.

"Huh? Were-cheetah half? What the heck are you talking about?" Six asked, confused. Ranma was a smilodon right? He certainly didn't look like no stupid cheetah

"Ah.. he's a mix breed! Were-Cheetah and Smilodon! Look" Lily panted; it was hard to talk with the little amount of air she was getting, "Spots in his pelt, he's half were-cheetah.."

Ranma blinked, "Eh.. whatever. Look, I know your Lily, the Weapons Master." he glared at her, and she whimpered as the force Six was pressing on her suddenly increased, "But I ain't gonna kick your ass just now. I need some information, then you need to get those two.." he pointed to Karia and Mumsey ".. to a healer."

Six snarled, her ears twitching, "Not much time Ranma, people are coming from Trine." she warned.

Ranma nodded, "This makes three weapon masters I've taken down, you being the fourth. Where are the others? The Armsmaster?"

Lily didn't look like she was going to say anything. Six snorted, the little pink haired dits was probably waiting for the villagers from Trine to come here. Like she was scared of any old mob of idiots. Pressing down harder, she snarled, "Answer the question, girl."

"Leap! Rhaotan!" She squeaked, "They refused to hunt you! I don't know why! But Leap should still be in his fortress, and Rhaotan in the Shadow Elf city!"

Ranma nodded, "That would make Seven weapon masters. Tsunami, Mumsey, Karia, You, Leep, and Rhaotan accounted for. That leaves three others, and the Armsmaster herself."

"I don't know where they are! The other three keep themselves hidden! I don't know why! Last I heard, the Armsmaster was on Earth with her family!"

Ranma nodded, "I believe her six. Let's get out of here." he said, jumping up to the Dragon's back side, "If I see you again Lily, I won't let you off this easy." he motioned to the downed weapon masters, "Make sure they survive."

"Just let me finish her off, Ranma. She'll just bother you again!" Six grumbled.

Ranma sighed, patting the dragon on the neck, "Six. Please, let's just get out of here."

Glaring at the helpless weapon master, Six snorted before shifting her weight off the women, "Just because you asked Ranma." she snarled at the girl, "I better not see you again." before flapping her wings twice and taking flight.

Lily shuddered as the dragon flew overhead. That had to be the scariest moment of her short life. Climbing to her feet, she winced at her tender ribs. Though the dragon could have obviously killed her back there, she at least seemed partial to the were smilodon.

"My heart hurts." she grumbled as a birdie landed near by and looked at her in concern.

 **by Matdeception**

Ranma frowned, "Six? Why are we descending? We aren't anywhere near Rook's place yet!"

Six snorted but said nothing as she circled closer and closer to the ground. She was really upset with him, and didn't feel like waiting until they got back to Rook's castle to give him an ear full of just how pissed off she was!

Descending into the forests near Tessa, she came upon a large enough clearing for her to land. Setting down, she wiped her serpentine head and said in a cold spiteful growl "Get off, now."

Ranma shot the dragon a curious glance, before sliding off down her smooth brown scales to the ground. Turning around, he grumbled, "Look, Six. I had a bad day, can't we just go home? What the heck is the point of stopping here like this?" He was a tad put out by everything that had just happened. First he got drafted into being the baggage bitch for the girls 'feminine' supplies. Then he got in a fight with two weapon masters. Okay, he couldn't blame that bit on anyone but himself, still he was tired and just wanted to go home.

Six's form shimmered, shrinking in on itself as she took her human force, a bright yellow shirt and pants forming into existence with a cute little bowtie appearing around her neck. She threw Ranma a cold glare, a snarl twitching on her lips as she stalked over to the dumbfounded smilodon.

"Six? What gives? Are you gonna answer my question or ign.."

Six brutally punched him in the face, a look of extreme anger etched into her eyes as she did so. He was caught surprised by the attack, taking the full force of her blow and BLASTING a good thirty yards away, where he crashed into a giant oak before slamming into the ground roughly.

"Shit." Ranma groaned, struggling to his feet where he was once again thrown to the ground, this time by Six tackling him in tears where she sobbed pathetically "Ranma! You idiot! Why?! Why did you do it? You could have died back there! I thought you did die when you were hit with that axe!"

Ranma's head was ringing from the blow he had received and the subsequent tackle by an overemotional Dragon in human form. He groaned, "Owie.."

Six grunted, straddling the boy's hips before grabbing his arms and pinning them to either side of his head. She had small slivers of tears of the corner of her expressive brown orbs just waiting to break free, to travel down her dusky cheeks. "Ranma! Why!?"

"Six.. geesh.." he grunted, shaking off the dizzying effects of her attack, "You got some strength in those pencil arms of years." He joked weakly. He was more than tired after the battle with the weapon masters. That hit to the chest took a lot out of him.

"You idiot." she sniffed, face scrunching up miserably, "Why Ranma? I thought I lost you back there. You stupid jerk! You deserve more than a punch for scaring me like that!"

Ranma smiled weakly, "I'm sorry Six, I really am." he then made eye contact with her, noticing for the first time the tears that threatened to spill. Was he the cause of those tears? "Don't cry for me none."

"Jerk." Six sniffled, letting go of his arms and wiping the tears from her eyes. She was surprised when she felt him shift from under her, leaning up and wrapping her petite frame in a warm embrace. "I'm sorry." he whispered into her ear with soothing sincerity.

"Jerk." she mumbled again, weakly this time as she returned his hug. "You and Jane are all I have right now Ranma, don't do something stupid like that again. Please?" she nearly whined, but there was a desperate plea in her voice that reached the normally dense boy.

Ranma just held her there in silence, rocking back and forth with her slowly as she hugged him tightly, her body quivering briefly from time to time as she sobbed. When she went silent in full, he spoke, "I'm sorry Six, I really am. Yer one of my few friends too Six, and if I can help it I promise not to worry you like that again."

Six smiled a bit weakly, pushing away from him slowly, "I guess that's the best I can expect from someone like you."

Ranma grinned, "You know me. Trouble just seems to find me whether I want it to or not." he frowned a moment, "Hey Six? Don't you think we should be getting back to Rook's? We been gone for awhile, I bet they were expecting us back awhile ago."

Six pouted. She didn't want to go back just yet. Leaning forward she gave a husky whisper, "They can wait, I got you all to myself right now, and you owe me for that crap in Trine." before kissing him softly.

Ranma blinked, before shrugging mentally and returning the kiss. Her lips tasted like a bitter sweet cherry, smooth warm lips that teased at the boiling moist tongue that he knew she possessed. Her slender fingers caressed his furry cheeks, holding his mouth to her own as she rubbed her petite muscular body against his larger furry one.

Pulling on her shirt, he snaked one hand under the hem to get at her exposed dusky skin, enjoying the silky warm skin of her back as that hand traveled up, and then back down as he dragged the ends of his claws against her skin, eliciting a strangled gasp from the young woman as he violated her mouth with his rough tongue

Biting down on his lip for the briefest of moments, Six indulged in the coppery taste of his blood as the life fluid trickled through the small wounds before they healed themselves up. Her hands grabbed at the tear in his shirt, the tear that was caused by Mumsey's attack, where she grunted while ripping the shirt apart to get at the furry muscular chest beneath.

Pulling back from the kiss, Ranma growled, "Damn it Six! I was hoping to mend that shirt!"

Six just smirked pushing him back down to his back, "Ranma. Shut the hell up." she growled playfully as she removed her shirt, her pert little breasts bouncing invitingly. "I got you all to myself, and we aren't going anywhere until I'm happy."

"All right, all right." Ranma chuckled, lifting his arms up and cupping her breasts, fore and index finger pinching and pulling at her nipples while he massaged her mammaries.

Six reached up and grabbed his hands while sticking her tongue cutely at him. Pushing them away, she lowered down and began kissing his chest as she worked down, shifting her hips as she worked her way down to his waist. Grabbing his pants, she placed feather light kisses down the side of his crotch as he pulled his pants down, ignoring the quickly hardening cock that jutted from his pants and slapped her in the face. Quickly removing the rest of his pants, she crawled up over him and turned around, lifting her leg up as she positioned herself in the patented 69 position.

Ranma blinked. "Six? What the heck? Where's your pants go?"

Six tentatively reached out and grasped his massive cock, squeezing it as she responded, "Magic." she reminded the boy as she jerked on his cock.

"Oh, right. Dragon magic, clothes, gotcha." Ranma mumbled before he brought his hands up around her waist. He took a tentative sniff of her petals, enjoying the sweet smell of peaches.

Six took a nip of the angry cock head, smacking her lips before taking the cock into her hot warm mouth and lapping it with her slender tongue.

Ranma wasn't idle as Six gave him the best damn blow job of his life, which wasn't saying much since this was actually the only blow job of his life, but that point just didn't really matter anyway. Delving in greedily.

Fauntleroy frowned. He got that feeling something bad was happening again. He just couldn't figure it out though. "Just where the heck are those two?" he growled. Jane and Six had been missing for weeks already. Not that he expected much, but he had told them to check in with him after a month. They were just testing the waters right now as it was, planning for the eventual destruction of Jade once he had regained his true form.

Ranma pushed Six on her back, spreading her legs wide as he guided his purple monster to her dusky tanned lips. Six mewed in excitement, shivering at the feel of his manhood pressed against her Jade gates.

"Do it.. do it now!" the smaller woman cooed, fingers digging into the ground as Ranma lifted her butt up in the air some for better leverage.

It would be considered insane for a woman (even if she is a dragon) of Six's size to even think about taking a monster cock like Ranma's(and pretty much all male were's) hybrid form had. Still, Six was a dragon, which counted for something.

Ranma hissed as he slowly pushed his angry purple cockhead through her petals. It was slow going, however. The head of his cock was the thickest of it, and it was taking lots of pushing, rubbing, and forcing to even get the head in the inch or so it had gone.

Ranma took a deep breath, propping her ass on his knees, he placed his hands on her knees, and began to push outward, stretching the girl as much as he could while bucking his hips, slowly slithering into her hot caressing insides. He knew he would fit; they had done it last time, why not this time?

Six convulsed as Ranma spread her like a stick bird, the electric sensations of his pulsating dick rubbing against her tender nether lips pushing her over the edge. Her fingers dug into the ground as her hot tight little twat spewed a small stream of sticky hot fluid over his organ. If he was bothered by the fact she had already cummed he didn't show it, bucking his hips as he held her legs apart to spear her deeper.

Ranma loved the feel of this woman's pussy squeezing his purple monster, clamping and caressing his organ as he pushed in deeper like a greedy dwarf miner digging for mythril. Her petals were spread to the max, and he was thankful the thickest part of his totem pole was already engulfed. From here, it was all down hill.

Reaching down with one clawed hand, he clamped onto her G-spot and started carefully rolling it between his massive fore and middle finger. Six experienced her second mind blowing orgasm for the night, he tight little twat suctioning and spewing more of her white cream on over his cock, streamers of a white milky substance forcing it's way around his cock to drip down the crack of her ass.

"Damn Six!" Ranma grunted, pushing himself in a little deeper, causing more of her fluids to spell to be forced out, "You cumming a storm down there!"

"AH!" Six suddenly screamed when the boy slammed the rest of the way home, spearing her and tearing through her cervix roughly. She ignored the slight pain, lost on a sea of pleasure. She could feel the monster inside her twitching slightly, depositing precum and further exciting her insides. She had never felt so full until she met this young man, not even Fauntleroy could fill her like this. She could feel her insides encompassing the huge member, sucking it, caressing it, massaging it as she came. "Gimme.. AH AH.. give it to OH! UH UH, Don't stop AHHH..."

Ranma was in heaven; the feel of his entire cock being engulfed by the Dragon's blazing twat was heavenly. The heat of her loins threatened to burn him, only managing to urge him on in complete bliss as he began to pull out, enjoying the steep resistance her pussy muscles squeezed his cock with the action, like they didn't want him to ever leave. Letting go over her g-spot, Ranma brought stopped forcing her legs apart and brought them to his shoulders, where he gripped her thighs for balance. The pressure around his cock increased almost to the point he felt his cock being crushed by the woman's spasming muscles.

Six eyes bulged, her screaming going louder "YOU AHHH! Tear UH UH AH! ME APART! UH AH" Ranma grinned as he began pumping into the eager dragon slut, her entire body trembling with the force of his thrusts and the constant euphoria of being speared to her very hilt.

Ranma's thrusts started to become jerky and uncoordinated as he bit into Six's leg, drawing some blood. He seemed lost in the moment, and unaware he had just bit the woman. Six didn't notice, she was struggling to get breath in her lungs only to fail each time the boy slammed all the way in, forcing her short amount of air from her lungs.

Shaking his head, Ranma leaned forward, spreading her legs as he leaned down and shut the girl's screams with his lips, his thick long tongue sneaking through slipping in between her gasps. Six responded by wrapping her legs and arms around his bulky frame, her fingers clasping the fur on his back.

He knew he wasn't going to last much longer. He never seemed to be able to hold out as long as that first time with G'nolga. His thrusts were becoming faster, more insistent as he pushed for that final moment, the moment he would caress his peak and spray his spunk.

Six broke the kiss roared, an inhuman sound that should never have come from her vocal cords as she felt Ranma's massive cock head burst, spraying his sticky life giving spunk deep in her womb as her pussy twitched and spasmed around his cock. Ranma's thrusting staggered as he continued to push in and out while creaming his life seed. The pressure of his cock pushing in and the sudden addition of his spunk caused her juices to erupt around his cock, spraying out of her pussy in torrents as she thrashed about.

Ranma growled in a entirely too animalistic way as he struggled to keep the dragon beneath him, the woman's body was spasming uncontrollably and threatened to throw him off in the throes of her passion. He would not be denied the complete feel of her last and greatest orgasm to date by his inability to keep the girl from blasting him away.

Ranma felt the girl slacken underneath him after a few more moments of her Dragons roar, tapering off as her tired and worn muscles slackened. Six's head hit the ground, rolling to the side as he tongue hung out to the side.

Grunting, Ranma rolled off the smaller girl and tried to catch his breath as best as he could. God, he was tired. Holding down Six during sex was almost a full work out, and he was already tired as all heck from that near death at the hands of the weapon masters. "I.. think I'll just take a nap, right here." he mumbled to himself, slowly closing his eyes.

As he slowly fell asleep, he smiled when he felt Six crawl over his larger form, straddling his hips and hugging his chest tightly, mumbling, "Hmmm, comfy pussy cat." he wanted to laugh at that, but didn't. He was too tired.

 **by Philip Weigel**

Julia sighed irritably as she stood and listened to the various mages telling her just WHY the law should be exempt from this time. The redhead, dressed in some green fighting pants and a blue shirt, looked around the chamber, truthfully, Julia noted, it looked a bit like a courtroom. "Gentlemen, and women, and trust me, I'm using that term very loosely here, while I can see the fear that Saotome-san's son has caused in the populous of Jade and the fact that he's engaged in some criminal behavior, does that mean we should hunt him down and kill him?"

"YES!" Came the overwhelming response from the mages.

Julia rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming. "Listen to me RIGHT NOW! Out there is a young man who's been alone, hunted and feared ever since he's came here. Yet up until someone told him that the Weapons Master's and myself were to blame for his current state of misery, he had done NOTHING aggressive."

Sirus spoke up and scoffed. The Elf in red clothes bore down on Julia as best he could, so as to appear more intimidating. Kind of hard to do against the Armsmaster of Jade, but he tried. "Then what about when that female kidnapped my daughter?"

Julia sighed, rolled her eyes and looked him back. "I have no clue. You said it yourself, the female hasn't been seen since she let your daughter and her friend go."

Bugie, a little man, who looked like a cone that was weighted on the bottom with arms and a head who wore thick glasses, no legs and a near-constant levitation spell, spoke up. "While there haven't been any reports of her, we have been mostly concentrated on the male anyway. And Julia, whether or not you believe that there is a 'manipulator'," sarcasm was HEAVY in his voice and most of the rest of the council chuckled at that, after all, who could POSSIBLY manipulate them? They were some of the strongest human and demihuman minds around, "controlling things, the fact remains that the male Were Smilodon has seriously hurt Tsunami, one of the BEST Weapons Masters that are known."

Julia's eyes twitched, she was about to say something when the doors to the inner chambers burst open. Everyone turned to see a short human girl standing there. Theo spoke up. "I hope that there's a good reason for intruding Aura?"

Aura nodded. "Uh huh." The short human walked to the center of the room, Julia stood off to the side to hear what the girl had to say. The short human girl with dazzling red hair and freckles dressed in long blue robes spoke. "Just a few minutes ago we received word that the Were Smilodon had fought against Weapons Masters Karia of the Dark Elves, Lily of the Amazon Breeders and..." Aura gulped, knowing that the Armsmaster was in the room. 'Oh I hope she doesn't do something I'll regret.' Aura took a deep breath and continued. "And Mumsey Brigand of the Barbarian Clan. While Weapons Master Lily is unharmed, Weapons Master Karia is slightly injured, her face was demolished by the Were Smilodon's attack. According to the reports, she got off easily enough. But Weapons Master Mumsey Brigand was seriously injured during the fight. Her jaw was nearly knocked off of her face, she has many cuts, several broken ribs, most of which have pierced through her skin, severe burning along those same areas, bruising along the back."

Gniess was concerned about this. 'That creature has defeated THREE Weapons Masters at one time? This is not good.' He looked over at several of the other mages and saw them all with the same expression that he was probably wearing right now, that is, stunned and afraid. "Is there anything else in the report Aura?"

Aura took a breath, she feared what she was going to say next, but she knew that she had to. "Yes... Just before the Were Smilodon attacked Weapons Master Lily, a yellow and orange Dragon swooped down and was apparently angry at the Were Smilodon. At first, Weaponmaster Lily believed the Dragon hated the Smilodon, but apparently that wasn't the case."

Dee'em, a balding Dwarf, spoke up. "Oh? I take it that this doesn't get good."

Aura shuddered, unable to keep calm at what she was telling the council. "It appears... he commands the Dragon. It was by the Smilodon's will that the Dragon yielded in regards to Weapon Master Lily's life."

The council was shocked and afraid at this new development, the mere fact that the Were Smilodon had survived three Weapons Masters was astounding, but defeating them? Not good. The fact that he commanded a Dragon as well? That was three blocks short of Doomsday and approaching at a fast clip!

Julia was in a similar state of shock. She couldn't hide her shock from her face either. Her mother was hurt in a fight, that was fine, even if Julia cared deeply for her mother, Mumsey was a warrior and fighting's a part of her life. This boy, Ranma, was surprising her left and right. The mere fact that he took on not one, not two, but *three* Weapon Masters, and won, but not only that, but he also somehow could command a Dragon? The most prideful and arrogant of ALL races on Jade, all of which REFUSE to be commanded by anyone else! 'Oh gods! This is not good!' She thought to herself.

Aura took the shocked silence as her cue to leave.

 **by Red Priest of the 17th Order**

Deep, deep within the heart of Rook's Castle, (actually, more like in the outermost wall on the eastern side, facing towards the ocean) there was the time honored tradition of the evil-doers of the fantasy realm. The Alchemy Lab!

However, the Lab was still in use as it had been for the past week or so, (seeing more use than it had in years might I add). After all, Tanya could not deal with any interruptions. No. This potion had to be dealt with correctly, or it would be ruined.

Having stirred the potion for another hour, Tanya dropped the wooden spoon on the table. The Kryn sighed as she sat back in a chair that looked like it was carved from a solid piece of granite with an audible, though somewhat muffled 'thud'.

"Man is my arm tired," Tanya grumbled as she rubbed her elbow with the hand on her other arm. She had been working hard all day. The potion had been properly aged, now it needed to be stirred correctly. And hopefully, that had just been what she needed.

"I hope the potion works," Tanya thought wearily. She had put so much effort into this. She just NEEDED to meet with Stryyp and bang his brains out have a sophisticated conversation like two consenting adults.

Closing her eyes, Tanya shook her head. She needed sleep too. She'd been up for days on end for a while now. "But it'll all be worth it," Tanya mumbled to herself happily. Her work has bore fruit, and she would soon be able to harvest her... 'Nuts'.

However, one thing was bothering Tanya. She had asked Ranma to come down to the Alchemy Lab as soon as he had gotten back. He should have been back hours ago. "He must be laying one of those girls in the castle," Tanya snorted in disgust.

Concentrating, Tanya knew she hated Ranma.

He was a pervert.

He slept around like a slut.

He would probably perform an orgy if given half the chance.

So why the HELL did she give a rat's ass about the guy and occasionally fantasize about herself, Ranma, marriage, a white house with a picket fence, and 2.3 children!?

"I must be an idiot," Tanya grumbled irritably, a little more than annoyed at herself than anything else. Okay, she had to admit, for a pig-tailed boy turned werecat, Ranma was okay.

Hell, who was she kidding? He was frikin' hot!

Plus, there was another fact, which Tanya could not seem to dispel from her mind no matter how hard she tried.

Ranma had saved her that first time in Sanctuary. He didn't have to, he just did.

He had saved her from that shark boating her over to the East Continent, and even gave her food. And when they got on land, he gave her shelter.

Plus he even gave her that really nice cloak she had taken to wearing quite often. It was her favorite article of clothing now.

"Sigh, I must be an idiot," Tanya grumbled. She was falling in love, or at least harboring some genuine feelings over a guy because of a few kind gestures on his part towards her.

"Could it be I'm so damn lonely I'm willing to accept anything," Tanya thought bitterly. "Or are these feelings for Ranma possibly genuine?"

Sighing, Tanya shook her head. She'd find out soon enough. Looking over towards the cauldron with the lust potion, Tanya knew she would. She'd finally get a chance to get over Stryyp, and then she could try to investigate her feelings on her own.

But first to do that, she needed Ranma! "And a way to get to earth," Tanya mentally added.

Shrugging her shoulders, Tanya knew it wouldn't be too hard. She was pretty damn certain Rook had some scrolls here she could use. And then she could finally make a long-time dream come true.

"I just hope my dream won't be a nightmare," Tanya prayed silently.

 **by S.A.M.**

'This is nice. Just laying here.' Ranma decided after he woke up from his short nap. Laying there with Six laying on top of him. The darker Dragon woman was still asleep, not that Ranma expected her to wake up and do anything else for a bit longer, an hour at the earlies.

Sure, he was naked, so was she, they were laying in an open field just resting. But at that moment, Ranma didn't care if he was naked or not. One of his few friends that he had out there accepted him completely, regardless of what he looked like or what others thought of him.

Running his hands, err paws over her body, he just marveled at the feel of the young woman, how soft she was. He could easily feel her muscles that were there, but her body seemed to be really soft when she was relaxing. As he trailed further down, his hands came over her dusky ass as he just cupped it and squeezed it.

Six moaned lightly in her sleep. Ranma stopped, but kept his hand on her rear-end. He leaned his head upwards to get a whiff of her scent. After breathing in the scent of the dark skinned, brown haired Dragon lady, he leaned back and smiled at her. 'So cute.'

 **by Red Priest of the 17th Order**

Sitting on the couch, Genn watched the television set in the living room of the girl's mansion in rapt attention. Numerous and various empty bags of chips, a few half-eaten sandwiches, remains of fruit, numerous empty cans of soda, and a whole lot of tissue boxes surrounded her.

While Genn had been forced to stay behind, the Rakshasa did not remain idle. Hell no! She managed to pass the time with the 'As the Globe Gyrates' Marathon that was playing on TV. After all, what else was she to do without Séance around?

Taking a tissue from one of the boxes, Genn wiped at her eyes. "Poor Andrew," she sniffled. "To find out the woman you married was your own sister, your father is a hermaphrodite, your son is your own grandfather, to die in a horrid mongoose incident AND to be drunk on top of it!"

Sniffling more, Genn wished Brianna would watch this sort of stuff with her. It would prepare the lycanthropic for the sorts of twists and turns that modern relationships could take these days.

Still, Genn considered herself lucky. After all, it was because of watching these soap operas that Genn managed to make a relationship with Séance. Sure Genn's mother tricked her and her step-father Dao into helping her, impersonated Genn's best friend, tried to steal Genn's man, jealousy almost killed everyone, and acted like a total bitch... But that was to be expected! After all, Marsha had done the exact same thing on an episode of 'As the Globe Gyrates' a month earlier.

"And speaking of my man," Genn mumbled, "I wonder how he's doing. Oh, I do hope he's okay, what with these matters about the were smilodon."

Genn let out a yawn as she stretched back on the couch, causing an empty bag of Doritos to fall over on its side. Damn, did she sure missed Séance. She couldn't wait for her aura mage boyfriend to get back home. She wanted to give him the proper greeting after all. "Lots and lots of welcome back nookie."

Yep, if Brianna had been there to hear that, one could be most certain she would have been proud of her 'understudy'.

After a moment, Genn was taken out of her reverie of thought as a spark began to generate at the side of thee room. "Someone's gating in," Genn thought. "Maybe it's Séance and the others? I didn't think they could have solved the problem this fast."

However, all thoughts of the Diggers coming back early were crushed as Genn saw the first figure to come out from the swirling vortex that had generated form the sparks of magical energy. It was that black and white furred Kryn all right. Tanya! She had to do something to stop the ex-High Priestess of El Dorado!

Unfortunately for poor Genn, all thoughts of trying to neutralize the threat of the vengeful Kryn, she got an eyeful of what followed Tanya in through the teleportation gateway. Nine feet of black-furred muscle and fangs! "The... The were smilodon?" Genn mumbled in disbelief.

Tanya looked about and caught sight of the Rakshasa immediately. "Ranma," Tanya called out. "Please restrain her."

"All right," Ranma said as he walked over towards the Rakshasa.

Genn walked back and looked up at Ranma. She wasn't afraid of the smilodon due to the legends, hell no. She was just nervous about what he was going to do if he was working for Tanya.

"W-what are you going to do?" Genn asked quietly, stepping back and away from Ranma, the thought about changing into something to beat the crap out of him not even crossing her mind.

Looking down at the horned lady, Ranma answered, "Relax, would you? I'm not going to hurt you," Ranma picked up a sandwich from the couch. "Just keep you out of the way for now."

"K-keep me out of the way?" Genn asked. The answer she got was Ranma suddenly stuffing half of Genn's sandwich into her mouth.

Ranma picked up the kicking Rakshasa and placed her on the floor. "Tanya," Ranma called out as he started wrapping Genn in a carpet like a piece of sushi. "Get me something to tie this with."

"Right," Tanya answered and looked around. She saw the TV and walked towards it. She knocked it over and started tearing out the power, extension and cable cords. "Here."

"Thank you," Ranma asked as he took the wires from Tanya. He started tying them around the squirming carpet. "Stand still, would you?" Ranma grumbled as he tried to get the Rakshasa properly tied and bound.

Genn would have screamed, called for help, or whatever may have you, but she was currently busy nearly choking on her sandwich.

Ranma held up the carpet in his arms. "So Tanya, where should I put her?"

"I don't know," Tanya answered honestly. "Just find a closet or something to throw her into.

"Right," Ranma said. He noticed Tanya moving out of the room. "Where you going?"

Turning her head back to look at Ranma, Tanya answered, "To find Stryyp of course. You stay down here to make sure the other one doesn't bother us."

"Okay," Ranma answered as he opened a door. He smiled as he realized it was a closet. "This'll do," he mumbled as he tossed Genn in and closed the door. He looked back to find Tanya gone already. He sighed as he shook his head. "Good luck, Tanya," He said quietly.

*GRUMBLE*!

Ranma blinked his eyes and looked down at his stomach. "Yeah, yeah... Quit your bitching. I'll get you fed."

And so, Ranma walked off to find some food.

(-)

With a smile Stryyp looked down at his daughter happily as he held her in his arms. He had just fed her with a bottle and he was now getting her down for a nap. "Don't worry little one. Mom will be back home soon."

Stryyp couldn't help but chuckle as Tiffany yawned cutely in his arms. God, she was so beautiful. "My precious little princess," Stryyp whispered quietly. He lifted her up a little so he could kiss her forehead.

As Stryyp held his daughter, he didn't notice the light mist that entered the room.

(-)

It didn't take Ranma long to find the kitchen. A smile came to his face at the veritable size of it. "Hope there's a lot of food here," Ranma mumbled. "I'm starving."

Ranma's stomach grumbled again, telling Ranma to stop talking and start eating. "Yeah, yeah," Ranma grumbled and made a beeline for the fridge. "I hope they got fish," Ranma mumbled as he opened the refrigerator door.

And that is when Ranma got an eyeful of all the fish in there.

And his eyes went directly to the largest fish in there, the one the size of his right forearm.

Grabbing it in one hand, he held it for a few moments. "Hmm... Thing's gotta be twenty or so pounds," Ranma thought seriously.

And so, without second thought, Ranma dug into the fish ravenously, blatantly ignoring the sign on it that said, "Cheetah's Prize Catch! Do not touch! This means you, Bri!"

(-)

Stryyp groaned, Tiffany laying on top of him. Great. Just frickin' great. His body just suddenly froze up on him. "At least I didn't fall on Tiffany," he mumbled.

"Well, well, isn't this a fine mess," came a female voice. Stryyp couldn't turn his head, but he recognized the voice all too well.

"Tanya," Stryyp gasped when Tanya walked over into his field of view. She smiled down at him in an almost haughty manner. "What do you want?" He managed to ask.

Smiling down at Stryyp still, Tanya didn't answer right away. Instead she bent over and picked up the little baby in her arms. She ignored Stryyp's fear-stricken features for the moment as she just studied the baby in her arms; a Kryn with cheetah-patterned fur.

"It would be so easy to finish you off, little girl," Tanya mumbled as she walked about the room with Tiffany. "To take back what is mine."

Sighing, Tanya put the sleepy baby down in her crib. "No more... It's time to bury my past," Tanya mumbled as she gave Stryyp a lecherous grin.

(-)

"BRAAAAAP!" Was the loud belch Ranma gave off. Using a claw, he picked at a space between his teeth. Damn, was that fish good!

Taking the small card he had belched up, Ranma pointedly flipped it over and used his claw to scratch out the little message, "Smilodon was here!" Sticking it amongst the fish bones, Ranma placed it back in the fridge.

"Yeah, being a bastard is good sometimes," Ranma chuckled.

 **by Philip Weigel**

As Gina, Britanny and Nodoka moved through Durpan, the major magical city of the world, they allowed themselves to get immersed with the hustle and bustle of being in a major city on Jade during the daytime.

"It's just like being in New York." Britanny had commented idly. "Just with a bunch of different races and less people."

Nodoka looked around, the Werecheetah was actually a little taller than Britanny and people stopped and gawked at the fact that there was two Were Cheetahs out and about. The Werecheetah in a blue kimono nodded as she looked around, so many different faces that even if she did have a photographic memory she didn't think that she'd be able to remember them all. "It appears so."

Most of the people shook their heads and went about their business after seeing that there were two Were Cheetahs. So another one had survived, big deal! Well, it was a big deal since everyone thought that only one Werecheetah had survived, but oh well.

The group decided to walk further into town on the cobblestone roads and made their way to the center of town. While they were walking, Britanny spoke up. "Mrs. Saotome?"

"Hmm? Yes dear?"

"I have to say I'm sorry for what your son is going through right now." She sighed and her shoulders slumped. Britanny couldn't explain it, but she felt as if she had a great weight on her shoulders right now.

Gina shook her head. "It's not your fault Britanny. How were you to know that her son made it to Jade so many months ago?"

"You're sister is right dear." Nodoka went over to Britanny and placed her hands on the younger Werecheetah shoulders. "You could not have known what had happened did. And for all intents and purposes my son did look like he had died saving people from Saffron."

Britanny nodded, yet she did not seem happy at all. No, she looked like she was ready to cry because of what the people of Jade, people who, for the most part, had treated her kindly and respectively, was doing to someone of her clan. True, he was a mixed breed, but he was still apart of her clan. "It's just... If we had known that he was alive from the very beginning, we could've saved him so much trouble."

Gina blinked, astounded that her sister was acting like this. "Wow Brit. You're actually being mature here."

"I know... HEY!" Britanny mock-glared at her elder sister. The blonde girl in the brown pants and blue t shirt giggled for a bit before calming down. "But seriously Gina, I was thinking about Tiffany. How would I feel if she had to go through this?" Britanny sighed and slumped again. "This is so STUPID! Just WHY should he be feared? Mom said it herself, up until he hurt grandpa, Mrs. Saotome's son didn't even go near people."

Nodoka shook her head and sighed sadly. "I don't know dear. If only... People... Were... More... Open... WHAT THE HELL?!" The two younger women were startled when Nodoka yelled out like that. They blinked in shock as she ran forward quickly, causing a dust cloud to pick up. "Why those... ARRRGH! That does IT! I am SO going to kill those fools!"

People on the street quickly decided it MIGHT be a good time to get the hell out of there... Especially since the pissed-off Werecheetah in the Kimono was glowing an unhealthy shade of blue as she growled at the sign board.

Britanny blinked at the sight of Nodoka ripping apart certain posters on the side of the street. "Gina?"

"Yeah Brit?"

"Why is Mrs. Saotome ripping down posters of a redheaded female with silver highlights in her hair?"

Gina shrugged her shoulders helplessly. "I have... NO clue there Cheets."

 **by Matdeception**

Ranma sighed, sitting at the bottom of the steps with a totally bored expression, "Geesh.. I'm bored." he grumbled, giving the living room and the broken TV a longing glance before sighing deeply again.

"Next time, let's not use the TV cords to tie someone up." he mumbled to himself balefully.

With nothing to distract him, he realized very quickly he was left with a lot of time to just think about things. One certain thought quickly grabbed his attention, and was currently the victim of a rather lot of careful consideration. This was the Earth. He was home, sort of. If he decided too, he could just return to the life in Nerima and put aside all the crap Jade had given him over the previous year. It wouldn't be too hard to hide his nature; of course it would be a bit difficult to explain just what the heck had happened during that battle with Saffron. He groaned as he remembered some of that fight, specifically the glimpse of news helicopters flying just outside the conflagration of flame. Great, they would probably have a picture of him changing into this form.

Did he want to come back though? If you asked him a few weeks ago he would have not only said yes, he would have shouted it. Even now he was still really tempted to say to hell with it and hang around, but three things were holding him back. Well, it was about to be two things, whenever Tanya finished talking to whoever the heck it was up there she needed to talk to.

G'nolga. He still owed her his word. He might have been getting a little.. loose in morals recently, but his word was his word. Maybe he could leave after he got G'nolga and Julia to fight? Hmmm. That still left his last reason. Six. Now that he had time to think about it, the girl had been getting far too close to him. He didn't mean in a sexual way...

"You and Jane are all I have right now Ranma, don't do something stupid like that again. Please?"

He was special to someone like that? He didn't get it. What the hell had he done to earn that kind of sentiment? He wasn't blind, he's been a real asshole since he decided to get revenge, but Six didn't seem to care either. Hmm.. I wonder what her husband would think of all this? What was his name again? Faunty? Fauntleroy? Bleah.

Ranma grunted, standing up. He didn't want to think about that right now. "How big is this place?" he mumbled as he walked around the huge mansion.

Brianna grumbled as she closed the door, "Can today get any worse?" she whimpered, putting her purse and car keys on the stand. Today was just sucking for the Lycanthropic. Actually, her whole week just sucked. She had missed the big trip to Jade, missed the chance to help her sister find a missing part of her clan, and that's not even included how.. unwanted she had been feeling lately.

Sighing slowly, "I wonder if Genn is finished with the TV?"

He could feel the presence of another. Ranma frowned, thinking back to what Tanya had told him concerning the occupants of this house.

One, by the name of Genn, was a Rakasha. Capable of assuming different forms, though Tanya pointed out due to a magical mishap the one here could only transform into differing female shapes, and no longer into a male. She possessed some type of ESP and other mental abilities, but the extent of her power was unknown. He had been pretty disappointed with the ease in which he captured the woman, but he guessed she was just shocked by his appearance. Other people had been before, why not her?

Stryyp'Gia was mentioned, but Ranma crossed that possibility off his mental checklist. He was fairly certain Stryyp was upstairs with Tanya currently, and since he hadn't heard any explosions he figured the two were talking civilly, and that had to count for something.

Gina and Brittany Diggers were on Jade, or so Rook had said.

The last member of the household Tanya had stressed about was a Lycanthropic named Brianna. She told him she was some kind of gun freak who liked to blow shit up for fun. Combat wise, at least from a melee standpoint, she was pathetically weak. However, if she attacks you from at range, you could bet your butt you're in some serious trouble.

Tanya had also stressed about some kind of Peebu, Peebo, eer.. or something like that.

Brianna blinked, a peculiar odor reaching her nose. Taking a deep curious breath, she wondered if Genn had gotten a new perfume. It smelt like a strong musk, only with a hint of something soft and sweet beneath the surface. She hmmed, trying to decide whether she liked the smell or not.

"Hey Genn, is that some type of new... what the hell?" she screeched as she noticed the state of the living room. Their rather expensive TV had been knocked off its stand, the power cord and audio/digital TV wires had been ripped from it's back, leaving stumps with copper wires sticking just out of the end. A mess of discarded cans of drink and ruffled bags of chips laid haphazardly about the couch.

"STRYY.. URK!" Brianna started to yell, until a massive fur hand clamped around her throat, lifting her body slightly as she struggled to break the hold around her neck while ineffectual kicking her legs out.

Ranma grimaced, "So you're the last defender?" he sighed, pushing the girl forward where she stumbled a bit before crashing to the ground roughly. "Did she really need my help for all this?" he asked mentally, stepping forward as the girl struggled to her knees, gasping for breath and holding her neck protectively.

Grabbing her arm, Ranma twisted it behind the girls back roughly, a gasp of pain elicited from the woman beneath him as he applied pressure to her joint. "Scream, or cry for help, and I'll rip your arm out of your socket." he gruffly spoke, "Understand?" he applied a little more pressure to get his point across.

"Yyes." Brianna hissed, pain flaring in her shoulder.

Ranma reached around her neck with his free arm, before pulling the woman up with him, "I'm not going to hurt you if ya don't make me, understand?"

Brianna nodded as best she could, "Yess." Where the heck were her peebo's when she needed them, anyway?

"Do you have to tie the knot so tightly?" Brianna grumbled as the unknown intruder tied her hands behind her back tightly. She was very thankful the man had kept true to his word, and hadn't tried anything.. funny.

"Do you have to whine so much?" Ranma retorted as he finished tying the woman's hands together. "Turn around." he grunted, readying a Gag.

Brianna did as she was told, her eyes widening at the appearance of the smilodon, "Oh my god! It's you! You're alive!" she backed up a little bit in shock, those canines were really something else!

Ranma raised an eyebrow curiously, "Ya know me?" Well, he reasoned, this was the Armsmasters daughter, so she might have heard something from her mother.

"Japan! That Phoenix! I saw you on the TV!" Brianna quickly threw out, before sighing, "We all thought you had died." she blinked then, "Hey, didn't my mom talk to you yet?"

Ranma frowned. The Armsmaster wanted to talk to him? What the heck for? Pfft, she probably just wanted to tell him to go to hell before she finished him off, "No." he growled, raising the rope and gag to shut the girl up.

Brianna sniffed, before shaking her head and backing up a bit more, her back hitting the wall, "But, she took your mom to calm you down! Seriously, there's no reason to do this!"

"What?" Ranma deadpanned, "You're tellin me your mother has my mom, and is using her to get to me?"

Brianna winced; he made it sound like the world was out to get him. God, her head felt really fuzzy. Pushing away the hazy veil over her mind, she forced herself to say, "It's.. It's not like that.. she.. she just wants.." What the hell was going on, it was getting harder and harder at an obscene rate to even think straight.

Ranma's frowned deepened as the girl started to stutter. "She must be trying to come up with a convincing lie." he mentally realized. "Whatever." he grunted, stuffing a piece of cloth into the girl's mouth and tying the gag into place before pushing her down harshly on her butt, using her momentary disorientation to tie up her legs tightly, "Just sit tight, we'll be out of here soon." he said as he closed the door to the laundry room

Brianna panted against her gag. She had tried to tell him, to make him understand her mother only wanted to help him, but something was messing with her head. It was all so hazy, and she noted with a distinct confusion her nipples hardening against her shirt.

Ranma glanced up the staircase, irritated, "Just what the heck is taking that woman so long?!" he grumbled with an irritated frown, idly scratching his neck.

He had been tempted many times to go up and see what was happening, and each time he forced himself to stay behind. This was Tanya's moment; she needed to talk to this guy to put her past behind her. She had promised to help him in return for his help against her enemies, and she deserved whatever time she needed to close this part of her life.

"I just wish it wasn't taking so damn long!"

Something was wrong, something was very very wrong and she knew it. She was so hot, her head felt hazy, and she was sweating despite the air-conditioned room. Her chest felt tight against her shirt, her nipples aching with each inhalation of breath. There was something she needed, she was sure of it, but she just couldn't make that connection.

"Damn... Bri.. cool yourself.. you need to get out of here.. the Smilodon is loose.. in.. your.. ah.. house.." she whimpered mentally, rubbing her legs together as she felt the heat in her loins begin to become unbearable, "Genn.. Stryyp.. Tiffany.. needs you.. stop.."

She suddenly moaned, a distinct glaze settling over her eyes, the muscles throughout her body suddenly bulging slightly as her mind was engulfed by the haze she had been trying to fight off.

In a far to animalistic growl for her, she grunted as her muscles strained against the bonds that held her. Unable to contain the hungry beast Brianna had become, her bonds snapped with a distinct ripping sound. Her hands free, she literally ripped the gag out of her mouth and tore the ropes at her feet to shreds with her suddenly thick nails.

Shuffling to her feet, she stared at the door balefully, before sniffing the air with a curious glint in her eye. She snapped her head left and right, as if she was searching for some elusive scent in the air, before jumping and crashing through the door in a roar!

Ranma blinked, "God damn." he grumbled as he stood up from his seat. The sound came from the Laundry room, which meant that Brianna chick was being a pain in the ass and probably trying to escape, or get help or something. "I wish Tanya would hurry the heck up." he mumbled as he raced off towards the laundry room.

As he got closer to where he had left Brianna, he got the distinct sensation something didn't smell right about this situation.

Brianna stalked through the halls on all fours, prowling the house like a wild beast in search of its prey. All the intelligence in her eyes was mostly gone, and she moved with the animalistic grace of an alley cat searching for her next dinner. She paused as Ranma came into view, raising her head slightly she sniffed the air.

Ranma stumble a bit at the sight of Brianna on all fours, he grimaced as a steady wave of dizziness suddenly overcame his mind, "Gah, what the hell is she doing?" he grumbled, trying to back up away from the strange acting woman. Whatever attack she was performing was seriously screwing with his head, and he couldn't figure out why.

Brianna growled as her prey started backing away, "YOOOOOWWWWWWWL!" she hissed, jumping towards the retreating male, her hyperactive muscles, empowered by the smilodon's overactive pheromones, allowing her to clear the entire expanse of the hallway in one single bound. She slammed into his body, the force of her blow compiled with his attempted retreat and sluggish mind gave him no reprieve as he slammed to the floor, her nails digging deep into his chest as they landed.

Ranma winced as he hit the ground, his mind groaning in agony as he resisted the temptation to go unconscious. He opened his eyes and came face to face with Brianna, here lips twisted into some kind of vicious snarl. Reacting purely on instinct, he flipped the girl away, his shirt being shredded apart by the woman who refused to let go of it as she was flipped away.

Twisting in mid air, Brianna exuded a sense of grace she had never done before, landing on her feet and hands much like a cat as Ranma struggled to stand up.

"What the hell is happening to me?!" Ranma stuttered sluggishly as he stumbled down the hallway in his attempt to get away from Brianna. His head was pounding, his entire body was aching, he felt his Ki going nuts inside him, and reacting to something he couldn't see. "Must.. get.. Tanya.." he mumbled to himself.

Brianna pounced on him again, this time slamming him on his stomach as she viciously bit into his shoulder, gouts of blood mixed with saliva escaping the bite wounds. Ranma groaned under the assault, feeling the last vestige of rational thought begin to escape him as Brianna bit roughly into his shoulder. As the girl on top of him viciously sundered the rest of his clothes, and her own, he felt his muscles suddenly surge with new strength as his mind faltered under the effects of her sweet scent.

Genn wanted to cry out against the injustice of it all. Why did she have to be so stupid out there? She should have done something to stop Tanya and that Smilodon, but she had been so shocked! Now, who knows what that devil woman was doing, or that smilodon for that matter?

Genn grimaced as something slammed against the door, the sound of an animalistic set of growls mixed with yowls and purrs echoing just outside her door.

"Dear god, what's going on out there?" Genn screamed in her mind.

Ranma let off an animalistic roar, butting his head back and slamming it into Brianna's own. The woman winced at the force of the blow; momentarily stunned she could do nothing as the man underneath her threw her off his back. She slammed into the closet door, before slumping to the ground on her butt, dazed.

Climbing up to all fours, Ranma turned to face the woman who had tried to dominate him, tried to force him under her lusts and control.

Brianna was more than just a cat in body. She was human, far more human then most would believe. The cat side of here cried out within her, desperately pleading she allow the beast before her to dominate her, to yield as the Beta. Her human side rallied against those urges, they would allow no one to dominate her. She was herself, she was not meant to be dominated by anyone without a fight.

Forcing away the dizziness she felt, she painfully climbed back on all fours, and prepared to once again force her prey underneath her dominion, until she felt a set of sharp jaws surround her neck, teeth digging into her neck painfully. It was more than that, Brianna's hazy mind knew, it was a threat. Yield and be Dominated, or struggle and be destroyed.

Brianna growled as she began yielding to him, slumping down to the ground, as he demanded by his forceful pushes on top of her body. She contemplated how to get out of this mess, how to turn the tides and dominate the male on top of her. She knew her time was running out, even now she could feel the heat of his body settle over her. Her claws clenched into the carpet, ripping up tufts of the plushy soft material as his claws dug painfully into her hips, urging her to raise her ass into the air slightly. She refused at first, until she felt the jaws clench tighter around her neck in warning of her stubbornness. Hissing hatefully as she raised her ass and spread her legs slightly, she felt the claws at her hips dig in painfully as the grip around her neck lessened.

She knew if she made any sudden movements, those claws digging into her sides painfully would rip her body to ribbons, wounding her grievously and making her even more easily dominated then before, if not kill her.

Ranma settled over the woman, tightening the hold of her hips when she seemed ready to struggle some more as he positioned his cat spear at her dripping sex. He yowled, an electric and entirely exciting sensation rocking through his body at the feel of her heated loins against his engorged cock. Pushing forward slowly, he yowled as his angry purple cockhead pushed against and parted her outer folds.

Brianna hissed, body tensing as she felt the long purple monster begin pushing into her, the male above her beginning to dominate her in full. She shifted slightly, pushing forward only to wince and yowl in pain as that small movement caused his claws to rip into her skin, a steady stream of blood rolling from her wounds and dripping to the beige carpet, staining them red.

Ranma growled at the movement, pulling her back roughly as he fiercely pierced her pussy, no tenderness, no easing himself in, just viciously plundering the moist hot expanse of her pussy. Brianna yowled loudly at the intrusion, at the feel of his monster cock piercing and stretching her vaginal walls with no regards to the pain she would feel. She almost cried in relief when she felt it pull out, but that relief soon turned back to anger as he pushed right back in, continuing at a slow steady pace but gradually picking up speed as he dominated her.

Brianna grunted, with each thrust of his massive steed into her molten depths. Her human half was faltering now, with each push against her cervix, painfully threatening to force it open and give him complete access to her womb. She could fill his sticky hot spunk begin to spill into her, the fluid warmth washing against her insides as he pummeled her tight little twat viciously. She could feel the veins of his hairy cock pulsing inside her, feel the blood pumping through the monster that was oh so thoroughly ravishing her insides. Her breasts were on fire, friction burn from being smashed and dragging against the carpet exciting her nipples and sending shock waves through her body.

Ranma could feel her inner walls massaging and coaxing him, the warm velvety smooth muscles of her Vagina squeezing and exciting him as he slammed into her. The sound of flesh slapping against flesh like music to his ears, the feel of her ass jiggling against his hips each time he smashed into them. Even now he could feel the head of his cock throbbing in excitement, the warm goo of his pre-cum spilling out into the girl, a thick yellow substance filling her up and forcing its way out of her cunt as he pushed more and more of himself into her.

Brianna yowled suddenly as the human part of her finally relented, it's defeat evident as she cried in rapture as she orgasm, hip's thrashing wildly against the steam piston of his thrusts as her cervix spasmed, opening to allow him full penetration into her body and her urethra excreting large amounts of her own spunk, the stench of their mixed fluids suddenly erupted from her abused pussy lips, the odor breaking the last strands of willpower from the animal thoroughly fucking her hole above.

Brianna's yowl heightened in intensity as she felt the monster inside of her suddenly widen at the base, stretching and expanding each and every thrust as his seed began rushing through his organ like a torrent. He slammed home one last time before the head erupted, jism shooting out of the one-eyed-wonder and flooding her womb, the sticky substance sending an entirely ethereal electric shock through her body as their bodies became one for the briefest of moments.

Ranma grunted as his semen filled the mewling woman beneath him. Hunched over her form, he struggled to regain control of his ragged breathing. The haze shrouding his mind slowly began to lift, but he didn't yet realize what had just gone on here. He had no idea he had just claimed the woman under him as an Alpha, the cat mentality of his mind fading away as he slowly regained control of himself.

She was thankful she was already forced against the ground, else she would have collapsed anyway. The sexual act she had just participated in hadn't been the most enduring she had gone through, but all the same it exhausted her like nothing else. As the haze over her mind lifted ever so slightly, she began entertaining thoughts of returning the rough treatment of her coitus with Ranma in full. She didn't realize she had been affected by his pheromones, nor did he realize he had been affected by the pheromones she began giving off in response to his own. She didn't realize her human and cat mentality had been thoroughly dominated by the gasping strong man above her, and she probably wouldn't realize until she had time to sit down and think about it.

Genn reached out with her mind once again, to see if she could detect just what was taking place outside her prison. She had tried earlier, and had nearly buckled under the raw animalistic lust the two separate minds were sending out in waves. She had felt her body react to those mental images, it had taken her some time to calm her racing heart and sooth the pain of her suddenly erect nipples.

Which was why she was extremely happy the raw sexual emotions were no longer blasting through the link as she reopened her senses. Instead she felt her mind pummeled with visions of desperate coupling, but she could tell the actors in this ballet were much more at peace mentally then they had been not so long ago.

Ranma grunted, falling back and pulling the still connected Brianna into his lap. His hands, so rough and hairy, caressed her warm silky breasts, fore and thumb pinching her nipples, rolling them, stretching them. He bounced her in his lap, the velvety caress of her twat sliding up and down his cock stirring the embers of his lust and desire as much as the wet slaps of his spunk drenched waist against her firm ass.

Her mind restored enough to know she wanted more from the cock ravaging her insides, Brianna brought her hands up over his hands on her breasts, enjoying the smooth sweaty feel of his fur as she guided his motions in massaging her mammary. She moaned each time he shoved that rough furry cock back into her folds, enjoying the feel of his blood pumping veins scraping her inner walls, pulsing with his life and excitement. She had already been taken in a most animalistic way, and now that she had more mental control she planned to return the favor in spades. She pushed back with her legs, surprising the boy as he fell on his back, bringing her down on top of him with him.

Peeling his hands off her breasts, she forced herself up in his lap and continued jumping on his molten spear. Ranma, losing access to her breasts, placed his hands on her back where they trailed down her sweaty hot form, enjoying the feel of her tense muscles across her back before he gripped her ass cheeks roughly, pressing her fleshy orbs together to squeeze his plundering cock more.

It was difficult, but Brianna had done it. Twisting her torso and raising her legs as needed, she managed to turn around completely to face the man, the feel of his cock twisting her insides as she moved brought on a bout of high pitched moans and shudders from her body, nearly sending her over the edge as he suddenly leaned up and surrounded her torso in his strong arms, his thin warm lips smashing against her own full moist ones, a heated exchange that culminated in a duel of withering tongues and desperate gasps.

Ranma had been with two women before Brianna, he was hardly what one would consider an experienced sexual partner. Oh, to be sure, he had learned a lot from his run ins with G'nolga and Six, and he found himself comparing those encounters with this one. G'nolga was rough and domineering at first, her gestures, her movements, everything about her screamed in control and refusal to be laid low in ecstasy. She lost steam quickly though, and was quite willing to be dominated, as he had done before Rook so rudely interrupted them. Then there was Six. The woman could be a handful, he knew, but she liked to get things started only to fold up and allow him to have his way with her, obviously enjoying the feeling of being controlled by someone so much bigger than she was (dragon form aside). Six and G'nolga had something in common, however, and that was their tight taut pussies. They were smaller than the woman he was currently banging, and thus provided a helluva lot more pressure on his wang whenever he managed to spread them enough to pillage their hot little holes.

Brianna, he was finding out to his delight, was a much bigger woman then Six or G'nolga, and while she was still a tight fit, he was able to fully impale himself without the trouble of coaxing and prodding her pussy until it stretched enough to take him in full. He dimly remembered a pinching sensation at the head of his cock when he had first been banging her, but that sensation had gone away after he hammered at the obstruction for a while, felt as if it had been pushed apart.

Brianna broke the kiss suddenly, moaning loudly as one of Ranma's hands traveled down the expanse of her back before poking gently and slowly at her rose bud, his big hairy finger touching and caressing the rim slowly, before pushing in gently. "Ah! UH! No.. not there! Ah!" she hissed, nails digging into his back as he refused her plea, pushing his finger in some more. "No.. please.. you'll break my ass.. please.." she whimpered.

Ranma grunted, before pulling his finger out of her ass when she started shuddering. He knew she was actually enjoying it for the most part, despite the pain of being spread like that, but he wasn't in the mood to go quite that far with her yet. He bit down on her shoulder in retaliation to her request, breaking the skin and causing a gout of blood to escape into his mouth. He grimaced at the coppery taste of her blood, before retracting his teeth.

Brianna shuddered as he returned his hands to her waist, picking up the speed of his thrusts. She felt so full, each slam of his generous cock into her tight welcoming folds blasting the breath out of her lungs, his hot breath against her neck as he started panting with the effort of screwing her brains out a welcome distraction. Her body was on fire, her petals clenching and coaxing his cock as she reached her peak and was pushed over in another mind-blowing orgasm.

Ranma felt her velvety smooth glove tighten again around his cock, but he didn't give in to its demand for his spunk. As the girl hiccupped in his lap, body withering in the ecstasy of their frantic joining, he pushed forward and set the girl down on her back, grabbing one long sweaty smooth leg he lifted it up on his shoulder while picking up speed, inciting the woman's withering pussy into a higher state of agitation at the force of his monster tearing into her.

Brianna raised her head, eyes narrowed as steamy tears of passion and pleasure began to leak from her eyes, trailing down her sweaty flushed cheeks as she watched the piston burrow in and out of her snatch with abandon, the rhythmic grunting of the man refused to break under the powerful caress of her clasping pussy. "Please! AHH! Uh uh UH! Come! AHh!" she yowled when he grabbed her other leg and placed it on his shoulder, before leaning forward and raising her ass high in the air while he thrusted downward, the tip of his cock pushing into her womb again and knocking the breath out of her, drool flowing in a steady stream out of her mouth as the man continued his rapid thrusting.

Both lovers we so lost in their pleasure, neither noticed at first as a long spotted appendage began growing from the base of her spine, lengthening into a long tail as her already pointed ears began to shorten into more human like ears, a long black eye stripe appearing under her right eye, before traveling vertically up towards her scalp. It was when her body started shrinking and growing a coat of fur that Ranma finally noticed the changes his current fuck toy was going through.

At first he felt her twat start to suddenly shrink, the pressure against his rod increasing exponentially as she slowly shifted. He felt her tail whip around beneath him, soft fur stroking his balls and separating the crack of his ass as it rubbed up and down his body. The heat of her sputtering twat burned around his organ as he quickened his pace, a sudden onset of lust throwing him into overdrive as the girl beneath finished her strange transformation into a petite, but still erotic, cheetah girl. Her hair darkened in color, changing from a bright blond to a deep orange with dark spots, the length of her hair shrunk as well, her bangs shortening and the hair down her back suddenly shortening to just above her shoulders.

Brianna felt the changes take place as the man forced her orgasm to continue. Shocked at the change, and the sudden feeling of her twat being stuffed beyond capacity caused her to yowl in ecstasy as a sudden unexpected orgasm ripped through her body, her nipples hardening and jutting out as her pussy once again sprayed a load of her now over heated spunk against the ravaging beast tearing into her smaller pussy. Where before she could feel his shaft suddenly expand as he reached orgasm, now she swore she could feel the sperm in the man's cock wiggling it's way to the surface as his balls raised up, his thrusting losing it's rhythm and becoming haggard and harsh as he once again emptied his steamy hot spunk into her body, the amount of spunk spilling from his raging cock head distending her belly slightly as she was packed to the gills in his semen, the excess fluid erupting from her pussy around his cock and clinging to her gold fur and his black spotted coat.

Ranma collapsed over the girl, unwilling to remove his prick from her honey-drenched snatch as he crushed the smaller girl beneath him. He took long shuddering gasps of air, enjoying the quiet sensual warmth of the girl crying in heart pounding pleasure, the feel of her smaller arms and legs now surrounding his body calming and exciting him at the same time. Her hot breath against his neck and cheek urging, tempting, and inviting him to raise his head and mesh his lips against her own, which she gladly returned as the smell of their flowery scent once again pushed them forward in desire.

 **by Matdeception**

Tanya shut the door, oddly focused on the sound it made as it clicked shut. "I'm.. done." she whispered to herself, idly pushing back some of her hair as she stared at the door and all it meant.

The sound of the door closing. Such a simple little thing, and more often than not simply beneath most people's notice. Not this time, and not for this woman. She had done it, she had managed to bury her past, and the sound of the door closing was like a book slamming shut, forever shutting away her past and what it meant to her.

Brianna huffed, mewling in ecstasy as Ranma slammed her so thoroughly from behind, her tail wrapped around his waist possessively as he continued their marathon fuck. She didn't know how many times she had come, how many times she had felt the cock of her lover blast into her, or how many times he had pulled out just to spray his spunk on her face, chest, and back. She was caked in the yummy stuff, her fur sticky and in some place colored most oddly.

Ranma had questioned his sudden insatiable need to screw the willing woman under him. As he picked up the pace and got the girl yowling loud enough to nearly shatter glass, he pondered the strange circumstances that lead to this incident. The woman under him had some type of attack that seemed similar to the effects of the Neko-Ken, enhanced strength, dexterity, and stamina, etc. ect. ect.. well, he guess this was the case, as he only had the explanations of others who witnessed him while he was in this particular state. She was had some kind of strange attack that had thrown his libido into overdrive, and for the life of him he couldn't figure out just what the heck she had done to bring this out in him.

As he felt her steaming velvety glove spasm around his long thick purple furry cock again, he threw these thoughts to the wind. He'd figure it out later, right now he had a fine tight little werecat pussy to finish pillaging.

Picking up speed, he fucked her through her orgasm, the act causing her screams of pleasure and ecstasy to echo all through out the house.

Tanya grimaced as she came down the stairs, her nose flaring as it was assaulted by the strongest scent of musk and sweat she had ever smelled in her relatively short life. "Bill Gates! What the heck happened?"

She frowned, examining her surroundings carefully. "Where the heck is that idiot?" she growled, wandering aimlessly through the house in search of her smilodon companion.

Genn startled awake at the sound of someone banging against the door. Expanding her senses once again, she snorted in disdain before closing them off again. Can't Brianna be just a little bit quieter when she's convulsing through an orgasm?! She had been having the most wonderful dream too!

Tanya gasped in shock as she rounded the corner, her eyes widening at the sight of Ranma slamming his thick long cock into the upraised cheetah patterned ass. She couldn't see the owner of that ass, the rest of her body hidden by the wall.

Still, there was only one person she knew with a cheetah ass, that stupid bimbo Brittany! What the hell was she doing here?! Rook had sworn she was on Jade.

"She.. she's cheating on Stryyp!" Tanya said in horrified shock, before anger erupted in her, "She's cheating on Stryyp with Ranma! That bitch! She's trying to steal my man all over again!" she didn't realize she had called the boy her 'man'. Angry, she walked over to the frantically coupling cats, snorting in disdain as the whore's tail tightened around his waist as the owner of the tail yowled loudly, a steady stream of her spunk escaping her thoroughly packed cunt and splashing against the underside of Ranma's cock and balls.

Tanya, swearing to torture the cheetah-whore, stepped around Ranma and rounded the corner to fully gaze at the bitch before she blew her to hell. Ranma seemed unresponsive to her presence, not that she could blame him with the look of ragged determination and sudden increase in spearing the twat. He was about to blow, and she knew it.

"You bitch! Brittany, I'm going too..." Tanya snarled at first, before she realized she didn't recognize the mewling were-cheetah currently impaled on Ranma's rod and blabbering incoherently as the smilodon cock still ripping into her prolonged her orgasm. "What the.. who the heck are you?"

The unknown-werecheetah seemed completely unresponsive to her question, which annoyed the Kryn ex-priestess to no end. She leaned over and snapped her fingers in her face, her eyes were unresponsive, "Oooookay..." she grumbled. This was weird. "Hey Ranma, who is..." she blinked seeing him unresponsive as well. "Ranma? Ranma!" she snapped her fingers in his face, he didn't seem to notice her as he suddenly stiffened, groaning as he once again reached release and sprayed the small amount of semen he still had left inside of the mewling cheetah-girl.

Tanya frowned, something wasn't right with these two. Summoning her power, she peered into their bodies in search of what might be wrong with them. Her eyes widened as she gazed into the were-cheetah, and Ranma. Both were drugged heavily, but what drug was currently in their systems she didn't know. She rustled through her robes and pulled out her potion. Still there, looking unused as it had when she last put it up. "Okay.." she grumbled, reaching out with her magic and suffocating the were-cheetah until she lost consciousness, but not killing her.

Brianna slumped to the ground, unconscious, her heaving sweaty body stilling slowly as, and Tanya noted this with an amused snort, a satisfied smile came across her tired sweat and spunk-drenched face.

Tanya sighed, smacking her face as Ranma seemed to slowly come to his senses, pulling out of the smaller woman with a loud 'pop' sounding as his dick fully retreated from her now much abused dripping cunt, "Gwah.. I'm hungry." he grumbled to himself.

 **by Matdeception**

"Who is she?" Tanya growled, pointing to the unconscious were-cheetah on the ground with the mother of all glares, her full lips twisted into a snarl as she spoke angrily.

Ranma grunted, picking up his torn clothes and sighing. "Damn.. I lose more cloths to sex then I do ta battle. How freakin lame."

Tanya reared back and smacked the smelly spunk soaked smilodon on the back of the head, repeating her question with a noticeable twitch in her eye, "Just who the fuck is that little tramp!?"

Opening the closet door, Ranma answered her question while ignoring Genn's suddenly wide and fearful eyes staring back at him, "How the heck should I know damn it?! Last I remember I was mindin my business waitin on you to hurry the heck up! Geesh, what took you so long anyway?"

Tanya stiffened, turning her head away from his naked back as she bit out despondently, "We.. had a lot to talk about."

Ranma grunted, pushing the Rakshasa-in-a-carpet-roll to the side as he grabbed two long large blankets, before slamming the door shut. "Whatever. Look. She just appeared, really pissed off at everything I think.. she just attacked me from nowhere, honestly!" He hissed out, covering his large naked body before rolling the naked were-cheetah up.

Tanya sighed, before pulling out the return gate scroll she had swiped from Rook's castle. "Whatever, let's just get out of here, before people start showing up to attack us."

Ranma grunted with a nod, lifting up the were-cheetah in his arms, "Let's go then."

Tanya blinked, before glaring at the smilodon, "What the hell do you think your doing? We are not taking that little slut with us!"

Ranma snorted, "Open yer eyes dumb ass! You said so yourself, you don't know this chick, she shouldn't even be here, but here she is nonetheless. That can only mean A. She ain't suppose to be here, and came only to get revenge or some shit on these people here, B. She's related to that bimbo you keep harping about, Britch, eer, Briatch, eer.." he grumbled, "Damn it. Brittany."

Tanya nodded with a glare, "So? I've put my past behind me, I don't care what that big-breasted no-brain bimbo of a were-slut does!"

"You may have put your stinkin past behind yah, Tan-chan." he said without even realizing he had called her that, "But I sure as heck ain't done that. If this little girl is related to that were-cheetah yah hate so much, and she's related to that whore Julia, then if we kidnap her that will make the stupid Armsmaster come right at us all the faster, right?"

Tanya glared for a moment longer, before sighing. She couldn't fault him his logic, his words did make sense. "Fine, but she's your responsibility. I won't take any of the blame if something happens to her with a bastard like Rook or those Dragon sluts around." needless to say, her opinions of the aforementioned people wasn't very high, not at all. Jane has a saving grace in her aloofness to everything, but Six was a gutter slut as far as she was concerned. The less said about Rook the better.

"Yeah yeah, as if I'd ever let anyone get hurt with me protecting me. Just hurry up, will yah? I'm hungry." Ranma grumbled, shifting the woman in his arms into a more comfortable position.

 **by Philip Weigel**

An hour later...

Ranma stood in front of Rook as he held the little Werecheetah, thankfully dressed, in his arms. "Rook?"

The Undead bastard was looking through his p0rn magazine again as he stared at the countless beauties inside. "DAYYM! How'd they find a near perfect replica of Lily? Hoo mama! I wouldn't mind being able to grab her ass!"

Ranma's eye twitched, about the only reason he wasn't up there beating the tar out of the Undead prick was because he was allowing them to stay at his place. "ROOK!"

"Eh?" The blue armored Undead Knight looked up from his magazine at the Smilodon. He sighed dramatically, threw his arms down somewhat, tossed the magazine to the side and pulled his pants up. "What the hell is it THIS time?"

Ranma shuddered at the scene that Rook had put on, but he mostly ignored it as he glared at the Undead pervert. "I just have a question."

Rook rolled his eyes and tossed his hands up. "What is it THIS time?"

"Why do you have so many pairs of Troll pants?"

Rook shrugged as he walked down from his throne to the Smilodon and tried to stare him down, quite hard to do when you were more than two feet shorter than him. "I don't know. My Deadites and other Undead things just bring them to me when they go out on a raid. Not my fault they keep bringing them here." He grinned under his mask. "Besides, I don't see you complaining." He reached out and...

*SMACK!*

Rook flew back to and THROUGH his throne as Ranma punched him in the chest. Rook shook his head as he got up and glared at the Smilodon. "That was most unpleasant."

Ranma scoffed at him and lowered his arm from where he hit the pervert in the chest. "Look, you can keep your magazines, you can leer all you want, but keep yer Undead hands off of the girls okay? Besides, I don't think that this girl would appreciate you groping her. I went through enough of that with the old pervert back in Nerima okay?"

Rook blinked. 'So little old ladies are perverts now? Oh well.'

It should be noted that Rook had YET to find out about Ranma's gender bending curse.

The Undead Knight in blue armor shook his head as he got up from the destroyed throne and walked back over to the Were Smilodon. "I WON'T do it! You can't... Make... Me... Mommie!" Rook backed up a bit as Ranma started to glow a bright blue. The worst thing for Rook was that while he couldn't sense just HOW the punk was doing that, he could EASILY sense how powerful it was and that it wasn't magic. "Okay, okay! Whiner." He grumbled as he turned around and assessed how much it would take to fix his throne.

Ranma frowned, nodded and was about to leave when he looked out an open window. "Say Rook?"

"What?"

"Do you know any bearded women with pale skin, red eyes and that wears a pink dress?"

Rook blinked. 'It CAN'T be.' "Not really, just WHY do you ask?"

Ranma nodded toward the window. "Well, there's one right out the window, look."

Rook turned around and blanched. 'What the hell is father doing here?'

The bearded "female" Vampire waved to Rook. "Say, can I come in?"

Ranma blinked as Rook took off at a quick pace and got over to the window, closed the shudders and growled. "NO!"

"Aw!" The creature's voice was muffled. "Come on Rook! Let your father in!"

Ranma blinked as Rook seethed. He tilted his head back a bit and thought about it. "Eh? Your father's your mother?"

Rook's eye twitched as he spun around to face the shirtless Smilodon. "DON'T ASK! I have one SERIOUSLY messed up family."

A feminine voice was heard, albeit a bit muffled. "WAHH! MY SON HATES ME!"

Ranma smirked and pulled a line that he heard from a bad joke book. "So you're a mummy's boy eh?" He blinked as Rook seemed to shake with fury. "Um, Rook?"

Rook snarled and clenched his fist spasmodically. "THAT BITCH ALWAYS LIKED BISHOP BEST!"

Ranma winced as Rook's yell hit his ultra-sensitive ears. Shaking his head for a moment and allowing the ringing to stop he looked at Rook seriously. "Bishop?"

Rook slumped and shook his head. "My goody-two-shoes, celibate, priest's brother, who likes flowers more than women!" He took a deep breath. "He's also Undead like me."

Ranma nodded slowly. "Ooookay. Just' leave the girls alone, and I mean ALL the girls Rook. You can look, leer, and make as many comments as you want. But no touching them."

Rook snarled. "Okay, okay! YEESH!"

Ranma grumbled something about getting some food soon. "Feh, anyway, I REALLY should concentrate on taking care of the rest of the Weapons Masters. I've already beaten four of them, one of them's right here, I know where the other two are." He sighed, shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "I just don't know about the other three. Oh well." He turned to leave and let the smaller girl in his arms sleep in a bed or something.

"Wait."

Ranma stopped at the door and turned to Rook. Ranma blinked because he could SWEAR that Rook was looking smug. "What?"

Rook chuckled as he walked up to the Were Smilodon. "You want to know about the hidden Weapons Masters?"

Ranma blinked. "Um, yeah. Why?" His eyes narrowed a bit. "You know one?"

Rook chuckled deeply. "Yes I do."

"Really? Who?" Ranma could barely believe his luck, this was his chance to get back at one of the Weapons Master's, and he didn't even have to leave the castle this time.

If Rook had lips, he would be smiling right about now. "My brother, Bishop, is one!"

Ranma blinked a few times. "Eh? REALLY?! Then you would know where to find him. And just WHY are you helping me with this one?"

Rook raised a hand and pointed one finger up. "In order, one, he's on the West Continent, and two," Rook held up a second finger, "I hate him."

Ranma nodded, he didn't particularly like hatred, but he understood it better. "Okay. How many continents are there and what one are we on?"

"Two main continents and we're on the Eastern one." Rook chuckled, turned around, and started to walk away. "So whenever you're ready to go after him, I'll give you a scroll that'll send you to him." Rook stopped, cupped his chin and thought about it. "I think I'll come with you."

"Eh? Why?" Ranma couldn't figure it out, didn't Rook hate his brother?

"I hate my brother, but it's been awhile since I've seen him." The Undead Knight shrugged, dismissing the feeling to worthless sentimentality.

 **by Matdeception**

Ranma sighed, before shaking his head in the negative, and shifting to human form. "Sorry Six. I wanna spend time with ya, I just can't right now." he motioned towards the unconscious were-cheetah "Got to make sure this chick here don't try nothing funny when she wakes up, y'know?"

Six's happy go lucky smile slowly faded away into dejection, "Oh.. I see. Ummm" she perked up, smile back in full force, "Promise to see me later?"

Ranma chuckled weakly, "Ah, I dunno bout that Six. Maybe.. maybe not. I mean, I really need to get trainin with G'nolga again, gotta get her ready." he gave her a sincere apologetic look as he said that.

Six kept on smiling, taking his 'Maybe' for a 'Yes', she giggled as she backed out of the room, "Okay Ranma! I'll stop by later to see how you're doing!"

Ranma blinked, then shrugged as he shut the door. "That was weird." he grumbled, turning away from the door to face the slumbering were-cheetah on the bed of his albeit temporary home. He gave her a long examining glance, watching the subtle rise of her chest as she breathed in and out, admiring the pale skin of her underside, her curiously small hybrid body, the way the girls fierce green eyes stared at him in shock...

Wait a minute. Rewind that.

The way her fierce green eyes stared at him in shock. Oh joy, she was awake.

The girl seemed to realize all at once she wasn't where she was last, and that some strange man was present with her in the room. She pushed up against the wall, before blinking in shock as the blanket fell off her form and revealed to the world she was as naked as can be. "Eep!" she squeaked girlishly, diving for the cover before once again retreating to the wall as she stared at the human boy present in the room with her. "Who are you! Where am I?" she grimaced, "Why am I naked?!"

Ranma chuckled nervously, scratching at the back of his head almost shyly, "Eh.. heh. Name's Ranma Saotome, you are in Jade, and yer naked cuz.." he blushed, "Well, cause me and you kinda.. well.. did 'it'."

The were-cheetah stared at him for a moment, blinking in curiosity as she digested that information. Tears started to appear at the corner of her eyes, "You.. you.. raped me?"

Ranma blanched, "Heck no!" he roared, suddenly angry that anyone could even think he'd do such a thing. "Look lady, what's yer name?" he had a very good idea what her name was, but he just wanted to be sure. He had only told Tanya he didn't know who she was because he didn't want to piss the Kryn off more than she already was. She may have buried her past, but everything was far from forgiven.

The were-cheetah seemed to calm down some, her eyes growing distant as if she was thinking about something, "Wait.. I remember.. I jumped you.. didn't I?" she seemed slightly shocked at her own behavior.

Ranma shrugged. "Yo!" he snapped his fingers, bringing her out of her daze, "Name? What is it?"

"Brianna." the were-cheetah said.

Ranma nodded slowly, "I suspected as much. I remember you jumpin me before yah turned into.." he hesitantly motioned towards her current appearance, "..into whatever the heck you are now."

Brianna blinked, looked down out herself and gasped, "What?!" What the heck caused her to change into this body again?!

G'nolga gave the woman an annoyed frown, "What?"

Jane blinked. She had just been watching G'nolga spar with Hanza some, it had been quite boring ever since Six and Ranma had started going at it, "Nothing."

Hanza rolled her eyes; "You've been staring at us for the last hour, Jane. What gives?" she smirked, leering over seductively, "Thinking of testing one of us, hmmm, a little licky licky?"

Jane stared.

G'nolga groaned, "Hanza, shut the hell up." she said as she smacked the ninja on the back of the head. Damn pervert.

Jane shuddered, tearing her purple eyes away from the dwarf and human, "You wish." she snorted. She wasn't that type of woman, at least.. not usually.

Brianna bit her lip nervously, stealing glances at the boy while nervously hugging her blanket to her smaller chest. It was a mixed blessing, as far as she was concerned. She had mind blowing sex and would likely remember their encounter for a very long time, add on to the fact she hadn't gotten any in over a year it did wonders to relieve the sexual tension that had been building up ever since Genn became a female permanently. The bad side, however, was the fact she slept with the man who openly stated he was going to kick her mother's ass.

Brianna blinked, hey.. now that she wasn't gagged, she might be able to explain everything to him! Yeah! Get him to see the light! "Uh, Ranma..."

Ranma was pondering what to do with the woman. Throw her in a cell? Might be a good idea, if he was anywhere else but Rook's castle. That little perv would likely do something while she was locked in that tight confining cell. Damn, that sucked.

He shook off those thoughts, "Eh? What?"

"Ah.." Brianna steeled herself, "Ranma, I'm sorry, about everything."

Quizzically raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Wha?"

She pushed on, "About believing you died back there. We only just found out that you were alive and being hunted on Jade, my mom.. she's doing everything she can.." she frowned as he rolled his eyes, obviously not believing one word of it, "Look. She's trying to get the bounty hunters and weapon masters to back off! That's why she took your mom with her to Jade."

Ranma snorted, suddenly growling, "Whatever. I ain't stupid enough to fall for that shit no more."

 **by Red Priest of the 17th Order**

Brianna blinked her eyes. "Shit? What shit!? I'm trying to help you out here!?"

Snorting, Ranma sarcastically asked, "Help? HELP!? Oh, you expect me to say, 'gee-golly whiz, thank you so much for getting people on my ass to try an kill me, I ever-so wanted to stop living'."

"No, of course not!" Brianna yelled. She then winced as Ranma just stared at her with an even-leveled glare. "Look," Brianna tried again. "You've got to believe me, my mom's got no place in this, really!"

"Excuses, excuses, excuses," Ranma mumbled. "You're just like everyone else."

"Excuse me?" Brianna asked, most certainly confused.

Rolling his eyes, Ranma leaned back against a wall, crossing his arms over his chest. "Do you know how tired of get of people saying, 'it's not my fault', or them just simply rolling the blame to me?" Ranma frowned. "Like this damn world of Jade, I did nothing wrong. Hell, I saved a family from some bandits when I first got here."

"You did?" Brianna asked. "Wait, wait, I'm confused!" Brianna said seriously. "You saved a family, shouldn't that have put you in good graces or something?"

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Ranma grumbled. "But like the people back in Nerima, every 'good deed' I fucking do, just comes back to bite me in the ass," Ranma frowned. "The people were scared to death of me! And then it only got worse."

Wincing, Brianna asked, "Bounty hunters?"

"If it were only that simple," Ranma sighed.

Brianna got the feeling she shouldn't probe deeper into this, but she couldn't help herself. "What do you mean? It was worse?"

Simply nodding his head, Ranma answered, "Bounty hunters, mercenaries, soldiers, wizards, Edge Guard, Death Squads," Ranma looked crossly at Brianna. "Weapon Masters!"

While Ranma looked straight at her, Brianna managed to keep her ground, even though she felt like Ranma's glare was enough to slam her back into the wall. "Please, you gotta believe me," Brianna pleaded. "My mom would never do that!"

Not lessening his glare in the slightest, Ranma point-blank asked, "And why the hell should I believe that? Everyone I know has wanted to kill me for the simple reason I exist. Why would your mother be no different?"

"Because," Brianna started, "She's my mother!"

Ranma snorted. "Oh, yeah, really persuasive. Uh-huh, you should be a negotiator," he bit out sarcastically. He didn't hate the girl, but the fact she was the daughter of the Armsmaster had him more than a little on edge.

"Listen." Brianna tried, slight tears starting to trek down the sides of her face. "My mother just isn't like how you'd believe! She's not a horrible person, and she'd never just assign death to anyone! You've got to believe me!"

Turning away, Ranma had to keep his sight off of Brianna. This trip had changed him a lot, more so than he would ever willingly admit. But there was one thing he knew he'd still have trouble standing up against. A cute crying girl. And be-damn the consequences, Ranma wasn't going to allow himself to be suckered!

"Please," Ranma practically hissed out disdainfully, "Spare me the melodramatics. Your mother putt the price on my head, and now if you think I'm going to just go easy on her you got another thing coming."

"But my mother didn't know!" Brianna stopped at that. She continued "I told you, my mother didn't know, and even if she did, she couldn't have put the price on your head!"

"What?" Ranma asked, slowly turning to look at her. The way she had calmly gone at that, instead of almost on the verge of hysterical as this talk had been stuck out in his mind. "What did you say?"

"I said, my mom couldn't have put the price on your head. She doesn't have that sort of power," Brianna said. She looked as Ranma walked closer to her, towering over her. Brianna was feeling very small before him.

"Explain," Ranma said, eerily calm. "I thought the Armsmaster is the ruler of all of Jade, so what do you mean by saying she has no power?"

"My mom is something of a political head," Brianna answered. "But she alone does not rule Jade."

Leaning forward, Ranma's face was practically in Brianna's. He stared into her eyes for a long time. The eyes were said to be the windows to the soul, and if one could read the eyes carefully, one could see a person's true intentions.

Ranma didn't see any sort of conniving in the girl. He saw fear, and lots of it to be sure; but nothing to indicate that she was outright lying to him.

Looking over, Brianna winced as she felt Ranma placed a hand on her shoulder. She knew she was in trouble now. Until she heard a few simple words.

"I believe you."

Opening her eyes slowly, Brianna asked, "You do?"

"Yeah," Ranma chuckled bitterly as he let go off Brianna's shoulder, and slowly stood back up. "Call me crazy, but I believe you... Somewhat."

Blinking her eyes, Brianna asked, "Somewhat?"

"Oh, I don't think your mother is innocent in any way," Ranma said seriously. "However, I do believe you in that it wasn't your mother's fault entirely. Did the other Weapons Masters talk her into it, or is there someone else working behind the scenes to help sway her?"

Sighing, Brianna knew she was screwed. Damn it, he still wanted to beat the crap out of her mother. "But at least he isn't totally focused on her now," Brianna added mentally.

Ranma frowned at Brianna's silence. "Well, come on! Out with it! Who the hell helped convince your mother to try and send all these people out to try and kill me!?"

Jumping from her spot on the floor a little, Brianna wasn't sure what to tell. Him. It seemed like that he wouldn't stop until he beat-

"The Conclave!"

Brianna blinked her eyes. Why did she just blurt that out!? She looked over at Ranma and saw that he was blinking his eyes as well. "The Conclave?" Ranma asked questioningly. "Who, or what the hell is the 'Conclave'?"

At that, Brianna wasn't sure what the hell to tell Ranma. She looked over at him, she knew he wasn't going to let it just slip. Sighing, Brianna decided to just bite the bullet. Who knows? There were so many of them that Ranma might get tired after kicking so much ass and forget her mother in total. "The Conclave of Mages. They are best described as Jade's 'ruling body'."

"Really? So more than one person actually makes the laws on Jade?" Ranma asked as he took a seat on the bed Brianna had awoken in. "Tell me more, please."

Blinking her eyes, Brianna was surprised at the sudden change in demeanor. He had become angered pretty quickly as soon as she had awoken, but now he was starting to calm down considerably. Best to keep talking to keep him calm. "They are all Archmages, thee best of the best."

Nodding his head, Ranma asked, "How are they elected to office? Do each of the mages represent a town or something?"

"No," Brianna answered quietly. "They are all Archmages, and considered the best of the best. Since they are considered to be educated, they are given all rights to govern over most of Jade."

The mini-lycan winded as she saw Ranma began to frown. "So basically, these people are in power, and not because the people want them there, but because they have greater 'power' than everyone else?"

"That's... One way of putting it," Brianna answered hesitantly. "They are supposed to be the most educated as well."

"Supposed to be?" Ranma asked with a disdained snort. "Meaning, they probably know everything about nothing; know-nothing know-it-alls."

"Hey, that's a little harsh," Brianna said as she looked at Ranma.

Ranma didn't make any sort of apology to that. "But I'm probably right, right?"

It was then that the mini-werecheetah was at a loss for words. She so wanted to say 'no', that the Conclave weren't idiots, but Brianna's own incidents with them in the past have been less than... Pleasant.

The incident with the return of Grave Digger; when Brianna had first taken this smaller body. Boy, Gaja, Nali, Dee'em, and Bugie REALLY dropped the ball on that one, and worse, Gaja died, and Brianna ended up being arrested by corrupt officials... Who then sprang her out shortly thereafter anyway!

Yep, the mages of the Conclave could DEFINITELY be described as a few episodes short of an OVA series.

So reluctantly, Brianna had to answer, "Yeah, you're right. They're a bunch of idiots at times."

Slamming a fist into an open palm, Ranma snarled. "I just knew it! They gotta be the ones who must've done this! Idiots know nothing about me, so they decide I'm a monster, Oh, I'll show 'em, I'll show 'em all!"

Brianna winced. On man, things might have gotten worse...

 **by Matdeception**

Ranma grunted, his thoughts heavily weighed by Brianna's words and explanations. Could he really have pushed all his hate, anger, and disgust against an innocent woman like the Armsmaster? Could he have been in the wrong when he declared his vengeance against the Weapon masters?

"Damn!" he grunted, balling his fists up tightly as he wandered the halls of Rook's castle. If only he understood this world more than he did! If only he knew what everyone else knew as common knowledge. "I need to figure this thing out before I go out and make even more mistakes." He already had enough problems as it was, and while normally he was more inclined to kicking ass and taking names, no matter what, at the moment he knew he needed to avoid making more enemies then he, and his friends, could possibly handle at the moment.

He sighed, "I need to talk to someone..." he mumbled, changing course as the image of a certain dwarf Weapons master popped into mind. If anyone knew what the heck was going on in this place, she would!

"Hanza, you really let yourself go, haven't you?" G'nolga grimaced. Hanza had always been a decent fighter, by her standards anyway, but sparring with the man turned woman was proving to be completely pathetic. She was slow, her skill had degraded to the point she couldn't put up any kind of fight except with the most unskilled members of the Edge Guard.

Hanza grunted, climbing back to her feet and idly rubbing her bruise abdomen, where G'nolga and slammed the flat end of her segmented staff, "Hey! I've been spending the last few months tracking Ranma down! Just when the heck do you think I had time to practice!"

G'nolga snorted, "Excuses, be a man for god's sake!"

"I'm a woman yah bitch!" Hanza screamed suddenly, before blinking and covering her mouth with a look of shocked horror coming to her face.

Jane just watched the two. Hanza was a rather curious mystery. They had explained Hanza had once been a man, but the circumstances surrounding her gender change still eluded her. Not that it mattered, she supposed.

Darkness suddenly overcame her eyes, a pair of warm slender hands covering them up. The owner of the hands giggled some, "Guess who?!"

Jane would have rolled her eyes, if she thought it would have had any weight with the situation, since her eyes were covered the point was moot anyway. "Why, is it the wonderfully packaged body of Balthazar?"

"You're silly!" The same cheery voice replied, "Guess again!"

G'nolga and Hanza just shook their heads in disgust. Damn, that girl acted too much like a child for their tastes.

Jane hmmed, making a point to appear as thoughtful as she could, "Gee, this is tough." she grunted with obvious fake frustration, "Is it..."

Ranma suddenly appeared, "SIX!" he shouted.

"... Six.." Jane grumbled as the hands startled off her, their owner immediately forgetting the game they had been planning. Feeling a little dejected, Jane threw Ranma a glare in annoyance at his sudden appearance.

"Ranma!" Six chirruped, dancing across the floor and hugging onto the pigtailed man.

"Ah.. heh." he sweated a little, "Ah, Six, have you seen G'nolga? I really need to talk ta her."

The dwarf in question blinked, wondering why he just hadn't called her in the first place, "I'm right here, boy." she grunted.

Ranma blinked, wondering why he hadn't noticed her in the first place. Detaching himself from Six, and completely missing the pout on her face as he did so, he walked up to G'nolga with a serious look on his face, "G'nolga, I need to talk to ya about the Armsmaster, and whatever this Conclave of mages thing is."

G'nolga grunted, grabbing a towel and wiping a sheen of sweat from her forehead, "Out with it boy, what's the problem?"

Ranma spared Hanza a glance, the girl looked tense for some reason he couldn't figure out. She was also staring at him in a rather lewd way, but he just shrugged that off as stress. Poor girl needed some help with that. He shook his head, oblivious to Jane's scathing glare and Six's hurt look at being seemingly ignored for the most part, "I brought this chick, Brianna, back from Earth. She told me some things I need yah to confirm."

G'nolga grunted. Brianna Diggers, she knew who he was talking about. She had kidnapped the girl a little over a year or two ago to use her as blackmail to oust Julia from her position as Armsmaster. "Yeah? What she say?"

Ranma decided to jump right to the heart of the matter, "Brianna said her mom wasn't responsible for my whole mess. She said it was a bunch of old smart dudes called The Conclave. What I wanna know, if any of that is true, and if it is, could ya explain it some to me?"

G'nolga frowned, rubbing her forehead in irritation, "Well, I wouldn't say Julia is totally responsible for everything. She ain't the type to let others deal with her problems." she shrugged, seeing the boy frown thoughtfully, "It's probably true about the Conclave. Julia could do something like that, she certainly has the political power, but if she ever did you can bet everyone and their mothers would know about it."

Ranma nodded slowly, " 'kay... So yer sayin this Julia chick ain't responsible none?"

The dwarf shrugged, "I doubt it. Unless she pulls rank, she only really has control over the Edge Guard, and these days they usually run themselves anyway."

Jane frowned, "Not that I care.." she said at first, though none could miss the hint of anger in her voice, ".. but it sounds like this Julia woman is like the Queen of England on Earth."

G'nolga shrugged, never having heard of that woman before.

Ranma nodded, he obviously had, "Figurehead with no real power?"

Jane nodded, "Right."

Hanza grumbled, scratching her neck, "But Julia does have power. I'm willing to bed my life on Julia not being the one who started all the Death Squads, or even if she really wants you dead. Still, she could have stopped it, I know that much."

G'nolga nodded at that, "Yeah, The Conclave would be the ones who'd be in charge of the Death Squads, and yes, Julia, if she wanted too, could have stopped all that nonsense whenever she wanted."

Ranma sighed, closing his eyes. He had been hoping the situation with Julia would be put behind him, and for the most part he thought it was. The Conclave was the true enemy here, though Julia was easily on his shit list. She could have stopped this? Whenever the heck she wanted? Oh, and she's using his mother! That was something he had been trying not to think about too much, he knew if he ever found out where the heck she was he'd go running off screaming bloody murder trying to rescue her.

He had some thinking to do. Looking around the area, he blinked, "Hey.. anyone seen Tanya?"

Some Time Later that Day.

Tanya stared at the Vial of green liquid, the potion she had brewed to forever bury her past. And bury her past she had done. Was it worth it though? Was everything she suffered all these years for worth the agony of the moment?

Opening the window in her room, Tanya gave the potion on last long look before chucking it out the window into the courtyard below. It didn't matter anymore.

 **by Philip Weigel**

Ranma, G'Nolga and Rook walked through one of the hallways of Rook's castle, amazingly, it looked a bit like a High School hallway in America, with doors and adjacent hallways lining the blue-gray stone walls. To, hopefully, keep tensions down somewhat, Ranma walked between the Dwarven Weapons Master and the Undead Knight.

Rook rubbed his forehead as they walked down the hallway to nowhere in particular. "Now just WHAT is the matter THIS time?"

Ranma grumbled something indecent that neither of his companions could pick up. "Listen, remember that girl I brought back with me Rook?" The Undead Knight nodded, although Ranma really wasn't looking at him. "Well, she said her name was Brianna Diggers and..." Ranma trailed off as Rook grabbed his shoulders. "What?"

"Brianna? That freaking Lycanthropic? The one who likes to blow shit up for shitz and giggles? The one who was responsible for allowing that Edge Guard Jagwere to freeze and blow me up?! HER?!"

Ranma winced, held up a hand and placed in front of Rook's face, while his other hand went to his ear and rubbed it a bit to get the ringing out. After a bit he shook his head. "I wouldn't know actually."

Rook face faulted, implanting his armored carcass into the floor. Ranma scratched his head and turned to look at G'Nolga, who was smirking at the scene in front of her. "Is he ALWAYS like this? Or am I just a special occasion?"

G'Nolga shrugged and smirked at the Undead Knight. "He's actually a bit serious when he has to be. And to answer his question, yes, that IS the same girl as before Rook."

Rook got up, dug into his pants pocket and pulled out a viewing crystal. It was a small crystal that only allowed him to see people or objects that were close, such as in his castle when he was there. "Just where did she come from?" He looked into the crystal and spoke. "Show me where Brianna is." He blinked when he saw a small Werecheetah in the crystal and scratched his helmet in confusion. "How the heck is that possible?" G'Nolga and Ranma both looked at him in confusion, so he elaborated. "Last time I saw her, she was rather tall and looked almost completely human, save for her cat ears. Now she can almost pass for a Werecheetah. Most ominous."

In Nerima, Miyo, the Taroh Card girl, sneezed at the table she was sitting at, and wondered what brought that on. She then looked at the cards in front of her. "Hmm, a triangle, a bird, a fox, ice, fire, a Dragon and a cat." She frowned and shook her head. "That makes no sense at all."

If only she knew...

G'Nolga blinked as she looked at the blue armored knight. "What the heck do you mean?" The Dwarf hadn't seen Ranma since he had gotten back up until he had sought her out, so she missed the little Werecheetah that he brought back.

Rook rolled his eyes, crossed his arms and stared at the Weapons Master. "What I mean, ya buddy, is that Brianna, if that was her, looks like a Werecheetah now."

Ranma rolled his eyes as the two argued like idiots. "Don't worry about it, I know that she's Brianna, I saw her change myself." The two looked at him, clenched their fists and nodded. "Okay then, Rook, listen to me, she said that Julia brought my mom here to Jade. I figure that the Armsmasters just going to use my mom against me in this."

G'Nolga frowned at that, Julia wasn't the type to do stuff like that to anyone. If the Armsmaster wanted to take a person on, she'd do it without going behind someone's back like that. She shared her thoughts with her teammates. "However, it is feasible that she took your mom to be questioned by either the mage council or the Edge Guard."

Rook grimaced at the thought of the Mage Council. "If she's with the Mage Council, then we can't do anything just yet." G'Nolga scoffed, and crossed her arms, but before she could speak up, Rook beat the brown-haired Dwarf to the punch. "Think of it G'Nolga. Even if you are highly resistant to magic and I can summon a lot of Undeads, that's STILL the ENTIRE Mage Council of ARCH Mages. Not some half-baked wizards. If we went up against them right now, we'd probably lose. I'd need to figure out some plans first. DON'T forget about what happened between you and Gaja last time."

G'Nolga grumbled but conceded his point. Even with the two Dragons, Tanya, herself, Rook, whatever Undeads he could summon AND Ranma, they'd still lose if those blasted Arch Mages were at full power.

"You know as well as I do G'Nolga that not all of them are Aura Mages either." Rook shook his head and thought about it for a bit. "Still, I DO have an idea."

Ranma looked at him. "Hmm, what?" He was getting desperate to get to save his mom from that evil woman and her friends. Okay, maybe she wasn't evil, but she could have stopped all his problems at any time she wanted to, so he was a bit mad at her for that.

Rook shrugged as if it wasn't too important. "We COULD raid Seer's Hamlet."

Ranma raised an eyebrow at that, it didn't sound too good. "Any particular reasons for that?"

Rook shook his head and shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, if your mother IS in Seer's Hamlet, there's a good chance that we'll find her. Plus there's some added bonuses as well."

"Such as?"

"Such as boy," G'Nolga spoke up, figuring out what Rook had in mind, "There's some of our friends in prison in Seer's Hamlet. Not to mention some weapons and items that we can pick up."

Rook chuckled darkly as a thought came to him. "Plus we can get a chance to remove the Edge Guard from interfering."

G'Nolga looked at him sharply. "It WON'T be that easy and you know it."

Rook waved it off for a bit. "Don't worry about it. We should be okay for the most part." 'Hopefully.' He added to himself.

Ranma nodded and started walking down the hall. "Okay, look, I've got something to take care of quickly, you two tell the rest about this okay?"

After Ranma was out of sight, Rook spoke up a bit angrily. "Who put him in charge?"

G'Nolga rolled her eyes at him. "Don't worry about it, you and I were both going to agree to it anyway." She smirked as she recalled something. "Besides, I have to 'repay' a little debt."

Rook looked at her and blinked, not really knowing what she was talking about.

(-)

Brianna looked up as the door to her room opened. She was still naked, but underneath some blankets now as she just waited for a chance to get the hell out of there. She blinked when Ranma came in and tossed her some clothes. She caught them in her hand and lowered her arm to gaze upon the guy that recently screwed her senseless. "So, what are you doing here?" She said after some time.

Ranma shrugged as he looked out the door. "Hey look, I'm jus' coming ta tell ya that I'm leaving with the rest of my friends for a bit."

Brianna blinked at that. He was leaving? So soon? That meant that she could escape! "Really? Where are you going?"

Ranma rolled his eyes and smirked at her. "Like I'm going to tell you that."


	4. Chapter 4

**by Philip Weigel**

"So... Can I come with you?"

Ranma scoffed at that. "I don't think so, there's no one in this castle that trusts you Brianna."

Brianna lowered her head, in a small voice she asked feebly. "Not even... You?"

Ranma grimaced at the voice. Oh how he HATED it when people played with his emotions. He looked at the mini-Werecheetah intently. "Listen to me, it took me a lot to actually allow you to stay here. If Rook had his way his Undead hands would be all over you." Ranma narrowed his eyes at her a bit.

Brianna's eyes widened when she heard that name. "Rook?" She spoke to herself mostly. That Undead Knight had tried to run a sword through her the last time that they had met. If it wasn't for Sheila freezing him and then allowing her to shatter him, she may not have lived to see the next day.

Ranma frowned at her expression, he wondered what the hell was wrong with her, she seemed scared now, just like when she thought that he had raped her. "What's wrong with you now?"

Brianna shuddered at his voice, he seemed a bit impatient. "Nothing, nothing at all. But, is there anyway to get you to trust me?"

Ranma hmmd and looked at her for a bit. After gazing at her he smirked lightly. "Well, there IS a way."

"Oh?"

The pigtailed Smilodon nodded. "Just try not to escape."

The small Werecheetah blinked, once, twice, thrice at that. She nodded slowly and spoke, just to be clear on what he had said. "So all I have to do is just stay here?" Ranma shrugged and nodded at her, wondering what was so hard about that. "Yeah. Just stay here and don't leave the castle until I come back." He didn't need to make mention that even he didn't know when he was going to come back, but the Werecheetah Lycanthropic didn't need to know that.

"Um, okay." Brianna spoke a bit hesitantly. All she had to do was stay there, be good and not try to escape until he got back? Too easy. She could easily leave at any time she wanted to after that.

Then how come it didn't sound so appealing.

"Oh, one thing." Ranma held a finger up a bit and caused Brianna to mentally groan, she knew that there would be a catch somewhere. "Just to make sure that you don't try and escape, you're going to be guarded."

Brianna swallowed a lump in her throat. Why didn't she like the sound of that? Ranma grinned at her. "Don't worry about it too much." He then walked out the door and closed it. He turned to the Deadites that were there, the Skeletons had eager looks on their faces. That is, if they had skin they would have eager looks on their faces. "Ok. You guys just make sure that she doesn't cause a lot of problems okay?"

The skeletons nodded and looked at each other, grinning, if they had skin anyway. "Alright boys! Fun time!"

"Whoo hoo!"

"I wanna grab her ass!"

"I want the breasts!"

"I wanna see if the rumors are true!"

Ranma sweatdropped as the perverted Skeletons started talking among themselves for what they were planning to do to the girl. "Hold it, hold it!" The Deadites turned to look at him. "Listen you, I'm not your boss, so I can't really command you to do anything. But don't, I repeat, DON'T molest her." The Deadites started to grumble and glare at him, if they had skin it would be a rather mean glare. "I didn't say you guys couldn't look, say what you want about her or anything like that, but don't touch her."

"But what if she lets us?"

Ranma sweatdropped and shrugged. "I guess that's okay then."

"Yay!"

"No look! I gotta get going somewhere. So I'll see you later then. And I DON'T want to hear that you've been molesting her, got it?" Ranma then took off down the hallway, leaving the Deadites just standing there.

"Hmm, you know…" The other Deadites turned to look at the one who had spoken up. "He said that we couldn't touch HER. He said NOTHING about her clothes."

If the Deadites had skin, they'd be grinning, nevertheless, they managed to pull of a reasonable facsimile of a grin.

(-)

In the courtyard of the castle Jane looked at G'Nolga with a raised eyebrow. "So we're all going to be attacking Seer's Hamlet then?"

The Dwarven Weapons Master nodded at the dark haired, purple eyed Dragon in human form. "Yes, seems that we'll be paying back that favor we owe the kid real soon."

Six, standing next to Jane, pursed her lips curiously and looked a bit worried. "Um, what favor?"

Both G'Nolga and Jane resisted the urge to face fault and groan, instead the two of them glared at the younger Dragon, although Jane's was much lighter in strength compared to the Dwarf's.

Six cringed from the looks she was getting from them. She backed up and started waving her hands up and down. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She whined out pathetically.

G'Nolga rolled her eyes and sighed at the Dragon. "Listen, we do owe that kid for busting us all out of jail there." Her gaze wandered over to Tanya, who was sitting on a rock looking out at the trees with a frown on her face. The brown haired Dwarf had to wonder just why the black and white cat woman was frowning like that. 'Maybe she's jealous that Ranma's not giving her any attention?' Actually, from what the Dwarf could see, Tanya did get attention from Ranma. After all, he didn't have to do so much for her when he first met her, and yet he did so, without asking for anything in return. G'Nolga shrugged. 'Oh well, that's that."

Sitting on the rock that was at the edge of the compound, Tanya looked out at the trees a bit angry. She wasn't angry that the other girls had gotten to screw Ranma before she did, oh no! She wasn't upset that he had screwed roughly half of the female occupants of the castle, nope not her. She wasn't the LEAST bit envious of the other girls and the attention Ranma gave them, nope, no way in hell, not her. She scratched her head and sighed deeply, just WHY did she stick with him? There was no real reason to do so.

'But then, where would I be? Where would I go?' She literally had NOTHING left in the world. Her people were back on their home planet, save for Strype and Tiffany, her family was gone, her past buried, and she had nothing more to do. Although, she had to admit, she felt better than she had for a long time. She only had a few things in the world. Her clothes on her back and her friends, Tanya looked back at the group and decided that, all things considered, they weren't so bad, once you got to know them. True, Six was a slut to her, and Ranma was a big idiot at times, they still treated her better than anyone, save Strype, had ever done before. They didn't look down on her because of her past, nor did they expect her to do more than what she was really capable of. For now, she decided cautiously, she would travel with them. At least until she figured out what she wanted to do with her life.

Rook grumbled as he stood by the doorway of the castle. The blue-armored Undead wanted to get this over with… He had p0rn to look at dammit! Oh, and Natasha was starting to get impatient, she oh so wanted to see the Smilodon soon and was threatening to blow him up a couple of times. Not that he cared, he'd just pull himself back together when it was done and over with. He looked up as Ranma came out of the castle. "It's about blasted time kid. What did you do? Get in a quick screw with that girl before you left?"

The Smilodon gave Rook a flat stare that said, 'What the hell are you smoking? And why aren't you sharing it?' "No, I did NOT do something like that you Undead pervert." He shook his head to clear it of some images that popped into his head. "Never mind that, so can we get going then?"

Rook scoffed at Ranma, the Undead Knight wondered WHY he was going to tell him this, but… "Apparently because of your little stunt in Trine, err, Trinc, WHEREVER, people are going to be on the look-out for Six's Dragon form and there's NO way that we could ride on her back all the way to Seer's Hamlet."

Ranma blinked, he hadn't thought that Six showing up when he was fighting the three Weapons Masters would cause problems. "Dang it!"

"On the other hand…" Rook commented idly. "We COULD ride on Six's back until we got out of Death's Domain and then the Land of Fear."

Ranma looked at the Undead Knight with a twitch in his eye. Why the hell did he have to say stuff like that? To get a rise out of him? The pigtailed Smilodon was a bit upset and idly bopped Rook on the back of the head, knocking him to the ground. Ranma blinked and looked at his fist. "Um, sorry? It was just a reflex, really!"

Rook just groaned in response.

 **by Philip Weigel**

Ranma sat on a large rock, resting his tired muscles from the rather long walk. He looked off in the distance and appraised the strange and unusual city of Seer's Hamlet. It looked normally enough, if one discounted the fact that it was similar to a multi-layered tree house. "So, how come we're taking the back door?"

The brown haired Dwarven Weapons Master looked into Seer's Hamlet, not really bothering to answer him right away. After a bit she spoke up to him. "It's easier to slip by security through the back door than going right through the front gates."

"Eh? I suppose." His tone however, had an undertone of disbelief to it. If they didn't place guards at every entrance, then why bother? That kind of defeated the purpose of even having guards in the first place.

The Dwarven Warrior didn't notice and leaned back against the large rock that she was sitting on and looked at the short grass that grew on Seer's desert. "Besides only you and the Dragons are able to move freely through Seer's Hamlet without being arrested right away. The rest of us would be arrested as soon as we were spotted." Not that it mattered much to her, with the exception of a few there was no one that she couldn't beat, and that included any Edge Guard that were stationed there.

She watched as a breeze blew across the grass that grew in Seer's Desert, making it look like the ocean at high tide as it crashed into the beach. It served to relax her just before what would happen later did happen.

Ranma shrugged at that and looked around as he sat on the top of the rock. Jane and Six were talking about something, he didn't care to listen in to the conversation, so he turned his attentions to Rook, Hanza and Tanya. The blue armored Undead Knight was saying something to Tanya that involved a door, a weird looking key that he was waving around and a phrase "Very hatchu nitchu achoo." Not that Ranma really knew what that meant so he just ignored it and looked into the Hamlet. "So, anything I should know about that place G'Nolga?"

She tilted her head upwards a bit to look at him. He seemed tense, uptight and anything but the man that she had gotten to know, fight and respect. "The Northern Edge Guard is likely there right now. Usually they're stationed anywhere within the Northern parts of Jade and they handle most any problems that pops up."

Ranma grunted and narrowed his eyes at the Hamlet. "Like me for example?" From what G'Nolga and Hanza had told him about this place, the Armsmaster had power, if he or she decided to use it, otherwise others controlled Jade.

"Say?"

"Hmm?" She wondered what was on his mind this time.

"Is there people who could put bounties on people's heads in there?"

The woman frowned at the rather vague question, thinking about it for a moment before answering it. "Well, no. The Guard distributes the wanted posters that have the bounty ratings for each criminal that they receive from the Main Guard. But the Edge Guard can put requests to the Main Guard for bounties to be enacted or rejected based on evidence." Not for the first time did the Dwarf had to wonder what he had done to deserve the reputation and general fear that he had gotten from the others on Jade.

The guy wasn't that bad a person really. She knew that personally. So what if he was a Were Smilodon and they were supposed to be the most evil creatures that existed on Jade since the Shadows? Oh, she knew the legends, how the Were Smilodon's had helped the Shadows subjugate Jade for the longest time until the first Armsmaster drove the Shadows from the land. Personally, she just thought it was a bunch of Bullshit. She had gotten to know the boy personally in the past few weeks and found that he was a decent sort. Hardly the evil soul-sucking monster or yore, he actually understood the warrior's creed better than most of the people that she had ever been associated with. He didn't like to kill, and many people, herself included, would see that as a weakness. Yet, considering the situations that he had gotten in, and the fact that he didn't kill anyone impressed her so. It was just something that intrigued her so.

The two just sat in silence for a bit, each lost in their own thoughts.

(-)

Off to the side, Jane and Six were talking matters over. The darker skinned woman gave her friend and co-wife a look of extreme pleading. "But Jaaaaane!" She whined miserably, wanting to be able to do what Jane was going to do.

Jane crossed her arms under her breasts, deadpanning. "But what Six?"

"Why can't I come with you?" Incredibly enough, she sounded like a certain blonde haired police officer that kept bothering a certain redheaded scientist.

The Ex-Wyrm turned human sighed, her eye twitched a bit, before speaking to the Ex-Drake turned human. "Listen to my words Six. We need you out here, to cover us when you see the signal okay?"

Six blinked thoughtfully and scratched her head a bit in confusion. "Um, signal, what signal?"

Jane shook her head and looked at Six seriously, giving a cryptic answer worthy of a certain green-haired timekeeper. "You'll know Six, you'll know." Left unsaid was the fact that she herself didn't know what the signal was, but she figured that she would know what the signal was when she saw it.

Six pouted a bit at the poorly answered question and nodded.

Jane smiled lightly and started to walk over to where Ranma and G'Nolga were sitting down. The two were silent as they seemingly stared off into space, ignoring everything and anything around them.

The Dragon spared her attire a look and grimaced, in irritation. Because of what G'Nolga suggested, and insisted on, she was no longer dressed in her blue and purple ensemble, but rather some loose black pants that were baggy, like a new pair of jeans, while the light blue shirt she wore hugged her curves while leaving one to wonder how much more she had under her shirt. After arguing about it for an hour, she relented her gloves and now showed off her strong, flawless hands, to the world.

She had to wonder just WHY she of all people had been drafted into going into the Hamlet with Ranma. She did agree with the others that if she was there with Ranma, there were less chances of him having more girls trying to get at him. Even though she was a Dragon and one of Fauntleroy's original fifty wives, she felt the boy had a large enough harem. Though she felt that she couldn't stop it from increasing in size even further.

But why the hell did the thought of Ranma getting some sex from other girls bother her so much? She hadn't slept with him, hell! She had NO plans to sleep with him at ALL! 'Must be something to do with Six...' She rationalized to herself.

She stood in front of Ranma and G'Nolga and spoke up, giving them a controlled glance. "Well, you ready?" She tried to sound cool and aloof, despite the fact that she was feeling very giddy on the inside at the thought of some time alone. True, she had to stay with a guy who was as tall as she was in human form, and if he didn't bother her with a lot of questions she could just wander around Seer's Hamlet with him. Nope, not too bad a deal all things considered.

Ranma nodded at that and stood up, he stretched a bit, causing a lot of popping noises to be heard as the joints in his bones popped and snapped loose.

"Wait!" Rook shouted, gaining their attention. The Undead Knight had his arms crossed under his chest as he looked at him.

Jane's full purple lips twitched into a light frown, her eyes narrowing at the Undead Knight. "What do you want?" she snapped.

The Undead Knight was apathetic to her anger and continued. "Look you two, if you're going to put on a convincing front to everyone in there, you're going to have to act like a couple. Groping, kissing, holding hands, everything!" He stressed. When they started to protest, not to mention Rook could feel the glares of the women burning into him from behind, he continued, cutting everyone off. "What? You WANT people to hit on you? I've heard hundreds of rumors that this place is just one big orgy city."

Jane's lips twitched into a bit of a snarl before she turned to Ranma, who had a fierce blush on his face. Her anger gutted out , like a flame in a rainstorm upon seeing him like that. She had to wonder why he was blushing so, after all, he had done a LOT more than hold hands with Six and G'Nolga, so why should holding hands bother him so much? She shook her head, dispelling those thoughts and held out her hand. "Well, let's do it Ranma."

The pigtailed young man nodded and hesitantly grabbed her hand, pulling her close to his side and the two walked into Seer's Hamlet.

Rook just chuckled. The two didn't HAVE to do that, but it was so fun yanking their chains. When a few angry shadows were cast over him, he realized that the amount of fun he had at Ranma and Jane's expense may not be worth the pain he would soon feel. 'At least I'm Undead, otherwise, they'd kill me.'

 **by Philip Weigel**

Ranma and Jane walked through Seer's Hamlet, taking in the sights and sounds that were going on at the moment, it was like a festival was going on, only no parades. Oh well, must get like this all the time during the market place at dusk. It was nice, walking around like this, not having a care in the world as he walked beside the woman who acted all aloof around him, not that he understood why really. Maybe she was one of those "I don't hate you, but I don't like you" type people? Or maybe he needed to earn her respect before she would do more than just stare coolly at him. If she had such a hard time accepting him, then why did she hang around him?

'Maybe it has something to do with Six?' He thought to himself. Was the only reason that she hung out with him was because of Six? It did hurt somewhat, that she only put up with him because of Six. He liked Six, and it wasn't the fact that he and Six had sex, though that was a bonus, no, the reason that he liked the darker skinned woman was because she was a friend to him. That was something very few people were in this damned world.

He mentally sighed and thought about the different people that he knew that weren't running in fear of him, even though they knew about the fact that he was a Smilodon.

There was Six, apparently the flying Dragon woman was so grateful for him rescuing her and Jane from prison that she could overlook the fact that he was a Smilodon. It was either that or she genuinely liked him. That was something that he hoped was true. Also it could be that she didn't know about what he was supposed to represent. Whatever he represented, hell, even HE didn't know what he represented to the people of Jade.

G'Nolga came next to his mind. The Dwarven woman was a hell of a fighter, she could easily give Ryoga, Happosai, Taro or Cologne a run for their money. Hell, he'd put good odds that she could beat them. But there was more to the brown haired Dwarf than just being a bad-ass fighter. She might have gotten mad at him for calling her those names, but she didn't seem to hold it against him. She seemed like a decent person, once you got past the fact that she could kick most people's asses without half trying to. She wasn't one to be dominated, or to take crap from people, yet she wasn't like some people he had known from before that were like that.

Tanya came next in his mind. The smaller black and white cat woman came off as similar to all of his fiancees at the same time. But she seemed more worldly than them. Not to mention that she was very open-minded about what and who he was. Ranma mentally shrugged and stepped to the side to avoid a large water puddle, putting himself between Jane and the water puddle. Tanya oddly was the jealous type, but apparently what he said to her awhile back got through her skull and she mellowed out some. True, she still acted a bit upset when the other girls hung on him, but she seemed to accept it a bit easier now than she did before, though not without a frown on her face.

Next was Hanza, frankly, Ranma didn't know what to make of the short haired rather buxom woman. G'Nolga said that she was a Ninja and was pretty skilled at that, at least the last time that they had been working together. That woman just confused the hell out of him. One moment she was looking at him similar to what Six did, and the next she was yelling out about looking through Rook's porn.

That brought Ranma to the next person that he was working with. That blue-gray Undead Knight bothered him for some reason. It was more along the lines of someone who just wants to bug you, rather than someone who wants to piss you off. While Rook bothered him, mostly with his teasing, the guy did seem to have his head on straight, when not looking at that p0rn that was. Still, it was only a minor annoyance, and it wasn't anything that he couldn't deal with. After all, Kuno was a much worse annoyance while he was in Nerima. At least Rook didn't seem delusional.

Ranma glanced to his side and looked at Jane, she was quiet, hell, the two of them were both quiet as they moved around the hustle and bustle of the people in the Hamlet, yet the quiet wasn't awkward. It felt, appropriate, to be silent right now. 'It's like that song says, "You say it best, when you say nothing at all." How appropriate.' As he looked at Jane in her loose pants, he had to say that she was beautiful. She wasn't overly sexy like some girls, not just cute like some others, but beautiful, full purple lips, a fair complexion, light purple eyes with dark purple almost black hair. She may have not been nice at times, but she wasn't a mean person, and that's what Ranma really saw as beautiful.

It was curious though, she hadn't let go of his hand. Even though she had plenty of chances to let go, she didn't. Most unusual. Plus the fact that her grip wasn't hard, but firm, like she really wanted to hold hands.

She wondered why she was even bothering to do this, walking through the crowds, weaving to and fro. She looked at the young man by her side and her expression softened somewhat as he appeared lost in thought. She shook her head and wondered when she became so soft. She remembered a time where she would just beat the tar out of anyone who she worked with outside of Six and Fauntleroy.

She clenched her hand into a tight fist, the one that wasn't holding onto Ranma's hand and looked at him with narrowed eyes. After a moment of looking at him, she let out a slightly frustrated sigh and uncurled her hand. Why couldn't she get mad at him? It wasn't like she liked him. He was human! Okay, a Were Smilodon and the most feared thing alive, but he was still a human. She was a Dragon. There was absolutely no way that she harbored any feelings for him. No, the only reason that she did this was because it was a recon mission. They were to get in, find the Edge Guard, signal the others to come, fight those that they did find and let Rook bust his friends out of Jail while Six and Tanya gave them cover and support.

The fact that he was kind to her and treated her like a lady had nothing to do with how she was feeling. Absolutely nothing. She blinked and was about to protest when he shoved her to the side a bit, however, she was looking down first and then spotted the murky water puddle.

She blinked, slightly shocked at that and looked at him. His eyes were a bit far off, as if he was deep in thought. 'But still, no one's ever done something that nice for me before.' She thought to herself. She mentally stopped as she felt a warm sensation in her chest. 'But why? He's a human, I'm a Dragon.' She shook her head, realizing that he didn't really like her, but he needed her and could use her for his plans.

So why did rationalizing like that seem so empty?

She looked forward, pondering this, and missed the fact that Ranma looked her over good.

Six tapped a finger on the rock that she and G'Nolga were sitting on. It was the same one that Ranma and the Dwarf had been sitting on before. "I'm bored."

The shorter woman rolled her eyes. "It can't be helped. Those two need to get the Edge Guard alone. At least two members of the Edge Guard. Although three or more would work as well."

Six nodded at that and sighed tiredly. "How long will this take?"

G'Nolga shrugged, then turned her attention to a certain Undead pervert and smirked as he was trying to get all the dents out of his armor, with a powerful suction cup and only one hand. 'Who would have thought that Tanya could hit so hard?' She thought in amusement as she remembered what that smaller Kryn had done to Rook. 'She belted his arm clean off with one punch.' Of course, the cat woman had banged up her hand pretty badly from that, but it was easy enough for her to fix that with a quick healing spell. "Say Hanza."

"Yeah?" The man-turned-woman looked at her from the side. "What is it G'Nolga?"

"Where did Tanya go?"

The merc shrugged her shoulders and idly stretched to get whatever kinks out of her joints that she had. "She went to some door to wait for that signal, whatever it is, and then summon the Undead Rook told her to."

The Dwarf and the Dragon both blinked at this and turned looked at her. "What door?"

The taller woman waved her hand in a general Eastern direction. "It's some sort of portal in the shape of a door nearby that Rook set up to summon an army when he needed to invade Seer's Hamlet. It's been an idea of his for awhile now."

G'Nolga nodded at that. "Okay." It made sense to her.

Six scratched her head and blinked. "But why have a door out here? Wouldn't it be easier to just summon the Undead's that he needs?"

The Ninja smirked at her. "Actually, this door is a special portal. It saves him time and power to go to the door and open it, rather than summoning them himself, all he has to do is say a few words and bam, instant army."

The dusky skinned woman nodded at that. It made a strange sort of sense.

Off to the side, Rook grumbled as he popped the last dent out of his armor and then went to get his that was lying nearby. 'Good thing I got this anti-dent machine from the Earth realm. Though I wonder why people would use it on those car machines of theirs. Oh well. I just had to "convince" that rich guy to part with his.' He chuckled to himself as he reattached his arm to his body.

He grumbled about how people were so inconsiderate to him, but then shrugged. Oh well, at least they weren't blowing him apart and sealing him inside walls like certain other people had done to him.

He looked at the position of the sun and grimaced. If the Smilodon was a romantic like Rook thought he was, then it was going to be a LONG wait.

'Then again, who knows?' He thought to himself as he sat down on the grass.

 **by Philip Weigel**

Back in Death's Domain, Brianna sighed as she sat on the bed in the room she was given. At the moment, she wasn't doing much of anything, just looking at her arms in a kind of shocked wonder. "How the hell did I shift back into this form?" She mused aloud. At that moment, she was a short Werecheetah with an eye stripe on the right side of her face rather than the left side. She was wearing some light brown pants and an oversized gray shirt.

"Ok, think Brianna, you're on Jade, no big deal, you've been here before. However, you're also in a castle somewhere on Jade and you don't know where exactly, you don't have any weapons and the guy that's holding you captive wants to beat up your mother." Brianna sweat-dropped for a moment as something occurred to her. "Gee, this is JUST like what happened at the Tournament of Arms when G'nolga kidnapped me and got mom to lose her title." Of course, unlike then, this seemed more serious to her. At least she knew that her mom could beat G'nolga in a fight, even if Julia was rather banged up after it was all said and done. But something told her that this Smilodon was trouble for her mother. It wasn't like he'd be able to beat her mother, at least, Brianna hoped he couldn't, but he had defeated her grandfather, at least that's what Strype had told her a day ago.

Narrowing her eyes in thought, Brianna wondered what was stopping her from getting the hell out of there, getting help from Brit, Gina or her parents before something happened. It was at that thought that she stopped and thought about her life. When was the last time that she did something for herself? Completely for herself and didn't rely on her family or friends to bail her out? Okay, there was that time when Peachbody tried to get rid of her, Brit and Gina before they were born, and the incident at the Dragon Pharoah's tower, and a couple of others that she couldn't recall off-hand. But in her opinion, her sisters, or parents, or friends, bailed her out way too often for her tastes.

"Is that why I didn't stop him?" She asked herself with a bit of a tired sigh. She wasn't sure herself, but if that was the case, maybe, just maybe she should work this out on her own for once. But one thing was for certain, she wasn't going to ask her family for help this time. She needed to know why the Smilodon was acting the way that he was, and gaining his trust was a good way to do that.

Well, she needed to know why the Smilodon acted the way he did, and why she got the impression that those bony perverts were in the area.

He could FEEL Saotome nearby! Now if only he had control of this body, he'd go over to Saotome and start his plans, namely by killing off the body he was in.

Hmm, maybe not. He might need this body later, ah, who cares? He'd get his chance at Saotome soon enough.

(-)

The sky was a bright red as the sun began to set in the West, shadows were starting to get long and imposing at the same time. Through all this, Tanya sat on the ground, out of sight from the others, near a door that was in the ground that was nearly invisible, as it was only a door frame with a door-knob and keyhole in the ground, as she waited and waited for that blasted idiot to send his signal. 'By Bill Gates, what is TAKING so long?!' She groused to herself. It was tiring just sitting out there and doing nothing at all.

After a while she was about to doze off and fall asleep when she saw a flash from the Hamlet, looking up, she blinked when she saw a large blue-white ball fly into the air and explode, brightening the area similar to what the sun would do and giving people extra light. The small Kryn nodded, figuring that it was as good a time as any to do what Rook had instructed her to do. She stood up and stretched slightly, before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a key. She placed the key into the keyhole, turned it and opened the door.

Tanya had to blink when she saw what was on the other side of the door... It was a swirling vortex of colors... Mostly purple, with squiggly lines of red, motes of green, and splashes of brown, moving in a chaotic pattern that was beautiful and very pleasing at the same time. Unusual for a chaotic picture. She shook her head and called out the words that Rook had told her to say when she got here. "Very hatchu nitchu achoo!" She cried out, and stepped back when the colors turned completely red.

She stepped back and took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she waited a moment, when she opened them, she was expecting an army of Skeletons, Ghouls, and assorted Undeads...

What she got was far different...

The creature was male, six feet tall, red skin, horns on his forehead, very muscular, pointed ears, black hair, bat-like wings, mirror shades on his head and... To her surprise, a pair of Bermuda-style shorts around his waist.

"WHO HAS SUMMONED ME?"

Tanya gulped, she wouldn't be so nervous if it wasn't for the fact that her senses were screaming at her that this thing was VERY powerful, hell, he made Rook look like a normal human... Almost.

The creature looked at her. "DID YOU SUMMON ME, MORTAL?"

Tanya shook her head at that. "Um, no I didn't."

"THEN WHO DID?" Replied the creature.

"Um..." 'Think fast, Tanya, or you're going to be dead!' She thought frantically for a scapegoat. "ROOK! Rook summoned you!"

"ROOK? THE UNDEAD KNIGHT OF THE EAST? THAT ROOK?"

Tanya nodded a bit fearfully.

Suddenly, the creature lost all traces of being scary. "Damn, what's my friend been up to these days? That jerk STILL owes me 500 gold pieces." The creature stated as he looked around for his friend.

Tanya tilted to the side and fell over. The creature before her was insanely powerful and he was acting like a normal human.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did my appearance scare you, mortal?" The creature smirked a bit. "Sorry, company policy to scare all mortals. Anyway, why'd Rook summon me here?"

Tanya stood up and shook her head. "Um, we need to attack that Hamlet that's behind me. But he wanted Undeads as shock troops and..."

The creature interrupted her. "Say no more! I'm supposed to be on vacation with my friends, but we can do this for free." He turned back to the door and yelled in. "HEY GUYS! WE'RE NEEDED UP HERE!"

Tanya blinked as over 80 creatures, most of them looking very similar to the first one, save for either skin, hair or short color was different. The first creature spoke up. "OKAY GUYS, I KNOW THAT WE'RE ON VACATION, THAT'S WHY WE'RE GOING TO RANSACK THAT HAMLET FOR FUN! NO KILLING UNLESS YOU HAVE TO! AFTER ALL, WE AREN'T ON BUSINESS! NO CURSING PEOPLE EITHER! GOT IT!"

"GOT IT!" Came the unanimous reply from the rest of them. Tanya just watched as they went into the Hamlet, mostly by flying.

"I, I thought that things would be a little bit harder than that."

The first creature chuckled. "Hey, we're on vacation. By the way, my name's Stanley, I'm a bad luck Demon. What's your name?"

The Kryn looked at him and chuckled lightly. "My name's Tanya, I used to be a Priestess." She wondered what he'd do now that he knew that she used to be a holy person.

The Demon shrugged his shoulders and headed into town. "So what? As long as you don't bug us, we won't bug you." He walked a few more feet before stopping. "Oh, and don't worry too much. All we're going to do is go in and scare the populace, fight those that fight us, but we won't kill anyone. Unless we have to. After all, we're not getting paid to do this." He scratched his chin. "Unless Rook pays me, but that's another story."

Tanya wondered how the hell things got so out of control. "Maybe it has something to do with Ranma?" She mused aloud as she ran after the Demons, hopefully they would keep their word, but she didn't have high hopes on that happening.

(-)

Ranma had to ward off a sneeze as he ducked a swing from the Werelion's dark sword that he called Necro, while hopping back from a downwards slash from the light sword that the Edge Guard had called Seriphim. Just before the Werelion, named Onoli recovered, Ranma, in his hybrid form, rushed forward and head-butted the Werelion, stunning him long enough to bat the two Katana out of his hands.

Onoli shook his head and grimaced, he'd have a headache in the morning, but he could deal with it. He just hoped that he survived this encounter with the Smilodon. That, and he hoped the Smilodon didn't take an interest in the armored sleeve on his left arm and the gem embedded in it.

Off to the side, Thropan was picking himself up from when that woman shoulder rammed him in the chest, sending him flying into the fence behind him. He looked up and grimaced as that woman, who was attractive, he had to admit, grabbed Gar by the face, dug her fingers into his flesh and pulled down, causing blood to spray from the open wounds. The Jagwere cried out in pain as he flew back from the darker haired woman's roundhouse follow-up.

(-)

High above the Hamlet, Six, in her Dragon form, was blowing gouts of flame at the stupid Paladins below who sought to attack her or slow her friends down. She noted, with a bit of confusion, that there were red, green, and purple Undeads down below scaring people. 'Hmm... Maybe that's why Rook has the door there, these are really powerful Undeads and it would take to much to summon them on his own.'

Giving a mental shrug, Six ignored the Demons, whom she thought were Undeads, and continued to blast those stupid Paladins down below.

(-)

"Hey! It's a Dragon!"

"Yeah, so?"

"It's attacking someone... Oh wait, just a Paladin, forget about it!"

The other Demons nodded and blinked when they saw a little girl about to get crushed under some debris.

"Um, should we stop that?"

"Why not? If she dies now, there won't be an adult to torture in a few years."

The others nodded and the quick one flew to the falling debris and knocked it away, then he scared the girl so badly she fainted.

(-)

Rook and Hanza openly glared at the shorter of the two figures in front of them. G'nolga looked calm and poise, even though she was ready for a fight as she gripped her weapon.

In front of them was Tirga and Sheila, the two had their weapons out and were prepared to fight all-out. Even if they both knew they weren't going to win this fight.

 **by Philip Weigel**

Jane looked at Ranma and raised an eyebrow. "You DO realize that they're going to link your human form to your hybrid form because of me, right?"

Ranma shrugged and stretched as he stood by a wall to a house. He peeked his head out from behind the corner and saw that, yes, those three, the Werelion, the Werepanther and the Jagwere were still there discussing certain things. Luckily, for Ranma and Jane, the Jagwere had his back to them, so he wasn't picking up their conversation. Turning back to Jane, Ranma sighed. "Who's to say?" At Jane's half-lidded stare, Ranma held up a hand. "Look, I know that they're probably smart and stuff, but people are idiots unless you show them evidence right in front of their faces.

The purple eyed woman slumped her shoulders. Honestly, couldn't he be a WEE bit more worried about the situation? "If you say so." She groused out.

Her companion looked at her and sighed, even if he had been getting a bit cocky about what he could do personally, he knew that his companions weren't feeling the same as him. "Hey look, Jane." She lifted her head up and Ranma blinked at the look in her eyes, it was rather, well, dull.

"What is it?"

Ranma shook his head and leaned against the wall. "Hey," He smirked, feeling confidence that he probably shouldn't have been feeling. "I know that this is going to be rough, but we just got to keep them busy for awhile okay?"

Jane was silent for awhile before nodding. "Okay, Ranma. If we can keep them busy, that'll be good. But I wonder... Can you keep yourself from being killed?"

He winced and idly rubbed his chest where that axe had hit him awhile back. "No guarantees." He smirked a bit. "But unless they're willing to blow up the Hamlet, I think I should be okay."

Jane was silent for a bit. "What about me?" She said softly, so softly that if Ranma wasn't used to her soft speaking, he would miss it.

The Smilodon in human form sighed and after a moment's hesitation, he placed his hand on her shoulder. The Dragon winced at the contact. "Jane, just trust me. Please?"

She closed her eyes and nodded. "Okay." She looked at him and smirked. "So then, how about we let the others know about this?"

He nodded and smirked, stepping to the side a bit he focused on the energies needed for him to shift forms. He felt the, now familiar, feeling of his bones shifting, muscles expanding, ear elongating, and the tail that came out from the base of his spine.

Jane watched, slightly interested, as her companion became that Smilodon again. She didn't know a whole lot about Werecreatures, other than some of their abilities and the fact that a human made them many, many years ago. It was quite impressive that a mere human could actually create such powerful creatures, but then again, she had seen what "mere" humans could do. She grit her teeth at the thought of Balthazar, the man who banished Fauntleroy, herself and Six to Earth. 'Old bastard.'

Once he had shifted to his hybrid form, Ranma took a step back and raised a hand into the air. Jane was about to ask what he was doing, when he started to glow a light blue, raised a hand up, palm flat as it faced the sky, only to blast a huge ball of... Something. Jane watched as it flew up into the sky before it exploded, blanketing the area with a ton of light.

"There's something... Odd about those two." Thropan stated after he watched the two people, a black haired male and a dark purple haired female, when they turned the corner. The two weren't terribly tall, about average height for a human... But the Werepanther couldn't put his finger on it. "I just tell you, something's not right about them."

The Jagwere in the group, Gar Silvear, shrugged at that. "Well, they move like they can fight. But other than that, I didn't see or smell anything weird about them. Well, other than the fact that the guy smells vaguely familiar, but I can't place it." He thought about it and yes, the guy DID seem familiar somehow, but he just couldn't place his finger on it. Must not have been too important, if it was, he would have remembered him.

Onoli nodded at that. "Yes, I really didn't see anything suspicious about them. Other than when they asked if we were the Edge Guard or not."

"Yeah," Thropan nodded at that, "Then the woman just said that they were new to the area and wanted to make sure that we were the Edge Guard or not." But still, he couldn't shake the feeling like there was something... "off" about those two.

Gar frowned, Thropan was right, the smell on the guy was off just a little bit. Where did the two of them meet before? It was starting to drive the Jagwere crazy.

The Werepanther of the group was about to say something when a large blue-white ball flew up into the air, high into the air, and exploded, making everything super bright. "Ugh!" He, Gar and Onoli had to cover their eyes from the brightness of the explosion. Thropan had his fore-arm pressed against his forehead, trying to block out the light. He looked up and squinted as the light started to die down. "Oh shit!" He paled as he realized just WHAT was walking towards him, he ignored the woman by the creature's side as he gazed at the monstrosity. Nearly nine feet tall, fur as black as his own, fangs that were down to his chin, long hair that went down his back, a powerful build, wearing pants and a shirt that outlined his frame. Thropan shook his head and blinked several times. "Oh hell! GUYS! We're in trouble! EARTH FLAIL!" Suddenly two short, wooden staffs appeared in his outstretched hands, blades on the ends pointing out and a two and a half foot long chain, that looped over his shoulders and behind his neck.

Gar didn't question what the trouble was, even though he was blinking away the spots in his eyes. "THUNDER EDGE!" A crackling spear appeared in his hands, the tip pointed downwards a bit. He shook his head to clear it completely and growled as he saw that bastard, the one who had nearly ate his sister when she was so injured from that one raid awhile back.

Onoli frowned, he didn't know what was going on exactly, being a Werelion, his eyesight was the most sensitive of any Werecreature, so the bright light was quite painful to him. Still, when the others started pulling out their weapons, he did the same. "SERAPHIM!" A White Katana appeared in his left hand. "NECRO!" A Black Katana appeared in his right hand. He turned around to face the threat and had to blink some more as the large figure took shape. 'Oh great!' He mentally yelled out as he realized what he was going to be fighting. He took notice of the woman beside him. "Oh great, two of them." He turned to Gar and Thropan. "You two, take the woman, I'll take the Smilodon."

Just behind them, Ranma smirked a toothy smirk, making Onoli, Gar, and Thropan shudder a bit in fear. "Well, are you three ready?" He only had to keep them busy, he wasn't trying to fight them to hurt them, but he had a feeling that he would have to hurt them, pretty badly too.

To get an answer, Thropan slammed down one of the ends of his Earth Flail to the ground. "Seismic Serpent!" Suddenly, what looked to be a snake's head, snapped forward, zig-zagging on the ground as it snapped and writhed in pure golden energies. Both Jane and Ranma jumped it, and the blast exploded when it hit the wall they were in front of, knocking down the side of the building. Ranma twisted to the side as the Werelion jumped up after him, swinging his swords upwards as he leapt up.

Onoli frowned and twisted his swords out to the side, to try and slice the monster, but his swing was stopped, momentarily, by the monster's hands blocking his arms.

Ranma grunted and wondered how the hell the other Werecreature could overpower him. Unnoticed to him, a green gem pulsed softly on the Werelion left arm.

As soon as she landed Jane had to roll to the side to avoid a powerful lightning blast from incinerating her on the spot. She held up a hand and tossed a fireball in the general direction of the two Werecats. She smirked as they moved out of the way quickly enough. She ran up to the Werepanther and smirked as her shoulder crashed into his chest, sending him a bit away and through a fence. She turned her attention back to Gar, who managed to slide under her and knock her off her feet. Still, Jane was able to backhand the Jagwere before he recovered completely.

Ranma had to ward off a sneeze as he ducked a swing from the Werelion's dark sword Necro, while hopping back from a downwards slash from the light sword Seraphim. Just before the Werelion, named Onoli recovered, Ranma, in his hybrid form, rushed forward and head-butted the Werelion, stunning him long enough to bat the two Katana out of his hands.

Onoli shook his head and grimaced, he'd have a headache in the morning, but he could deal with it. He just hoped that he survived this encounter with the Smilodon. That, and he hoped the Smilodon didn't take an interest in the armored sleeve on his left arm and the gem embedded in it.

Off to the side, Thropan was picking himself up from when that woman shoulder rammed him in the chest, sending him flying into the fence behind him. He looked up and grimaced as that woman, who was attractive, he had to admit, grabbed Gar by the face, dug her fingers into his flesh and pulled down, causing blood to spray from the open wounds. The Jagwere cried out in pain as he flew back from the darker haired woman's roundhouse follow-up.

The gem imbedded in Onoli's armored sleeve pulsed lightly and the Werelion rushed forward at speeds that she shouldn't have been able to achieve normally. He feinted a low kick and smashed his hand forward, open palm to the chest.

Ranma grimaced as he flew back. He couldn't BELIEVE that he had fallen for such a simple trick. "Okay you." He flipped and landed on his feet, blinking when the Werelion was rushing to meet him. "Feh." He sneered, ducking a straight punch before pulling a leaping uppercut, hitting Onoli in the jaw, knocking the Werelion back several feet. Ranma cupped his hands and gathered a quick amount of Ki there before firing it off at Onoli, hitting the recovering Werelion square in the back.

Gar was thankful, not for the first time, that Werecats had healing abilities. That was especially true as that woman was spinning him around and around by his legs. "How the hell did I get into this situation?" Of course, it was worse than normal since that woman was making sure to slam his head into the ground a few times before she let him go.

Jane shook her head and smirked as the Jagwere flew back thirty feet. She payed for her slight distraction when a chain wrapped around her neck, instinctively, her hands went to it and gripped it, she grimaced and gritted her teeth. "I got you." Thropan smirked at the shorter woman. "Now just give up."

She chuckled at that. "Give up? You should give up, cat." She gripped the chain tightly and performed a shoulder-throw motion.

Thropan, not expecting that, didn't let go of his weapon and flew over head. He DID let go when he reached the peak of his ascension, and flew near Gar. Jane smirked and unwrapped the chain from her neck. She held up the nunchucks and smirked. "I may be a fool for doing this, but I think you can use this." She then tossed it back to Thropan.

Meanwhile, Onoli managed to land on his feet, albeit so hard that he hand to fall to one knee, while placing a hand over his one knee and dig his hand into the ground. He looked down for a moment, closing his eyes to keep the dust out of them. He looked up and growled as that bastard came in with a fast flying kick, so fast, Onoli idly noted, that he was actually leaving some after images behind.

Ranma smirked as he practically flew at the Werelion, he was moving so fast that there was NO way for him to block the kick. Counter it or dodge it? Yes. This was proven when Onoli grabbed the kick, slid back a little, before pulling Ranma back a bit, lifting him up and slamming him to the ground. The Smilodon winced at that and rolled away from the follow-up stomp that would have caved his head in. "Oi!" He rolled to his feet and blinked when a static sound reached his ears. He looked up, only to see a white ball of... Something fly at him. Twisting his head and tilting to the side, the ball flew past him and into another building, this time starting a fire. "Hey, watch it! Someone could get hurt!"

"Yeah, you." Another crackling static sound bombarded Ranma's ears and he jumped, just before a blast hit the space that he was occupying moments before.

The Smilodon grimaced at that. "Jerk! Ya coulda hurt someone ya wasn't aiming at." He grinned as the Werelion jumped up to meet him. "Heh, fool."

Onoli frowned. "We'll see who the fool really is."

A bit away, Jane jumped over a swing from that bladed nunchuck as it tried to take her legs off. "Okay, cat, you're REALLY starting to bug me."

Thropan smirked at her. "Good. Because we're just getting warmed up." The woman in front of him scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You know, you REALLY should pay attention to everything."

Jane barely had time to say, "Huh?", when a shadow fell over her, she looked up, only to get a fist to the forehead and the blunt end of a weapon to her chest, knocking her back several feet.

Gar growled at her. "That was for my face earlier."

Jane grimaced and landed on her back, she slid back a bit before rolling onto her hands and knees. She lifted her head up and glared at him with absolute anger. "Okay cat, now I'm going to show you just WHY Dragons are the top of the food chain."

Gar blinked at that. He was fighting a Dragon?

The Dragon in question grabbed some dirt from the ground. She stood up, tossed it at the two Werecats before casting a wind spell, blowing the dust right into the two of them, temporarily blinding them. Jane rushed forward, did a front kick which hit Gar right in the ball-sack. When Gar bent over, Jane placed one hand on his throat, making sure to squeeze, and another one on his gut, before lifting him up, her arms fully extended, before twisting to the side and tossing Gar down in such a way that he landed on his head.

Ranma grunted as he landed on his knees from that last exchange. Still, he knew that the other guy was worse off, since he landed on his back. Smirking a bit, and feeling that he could wrap this up, the Smilodon rushed at his downed opponent, only to have the guy sit up and hold out his open palms at him. "What the?" Ranma began to ask, before a tremendous force of power knocked him back.

Onoli painted on his back, he knew he was down to his last reserves. He'd have to go all-out to even hope to beat this guy. Even as enhanced as he was, the Smilodon was proving to be VERY formidable. Concentrating on the last of his reserves, Onoli sat up, and lifted his hands up, creating a pressure force that looked like a white bubble, pushing the Smilodon back hard! Tossing him 25 feet away and onto his back. Not giving him enough time to recover, Onoli concentrated EVERYTHING into this last shot.

Ranma groaned as he landed on the back of his head and neck. Suddenly, that sickening sound of static reached his ears again, much louder than before. Knowing that it would probably be a bad thing if he got hit by that, he rolled to his knees, just as the sound changed, from static to a roar as it moved. Glancing up, the Smilodon blinked as a HUGE ball of magic flew at him, it was EASILY twice his size and moving at him VERY quickly. Only thing Ranma could say at that moment. "Oh shit." Though his voice was drowned out by the roaring as the blast neared.

A few moments before, Jane, after dropping Gar, jumped at Thropan, who had JUST gotten the dirt out of his eye enough to see. What he saw he didn't like. Especially as Jane grabbed him by his shoulders, lifted him up and slammed the back of his head and neck against the ground, numerous times, before tossing him up, leaping up after him and doing one somersault in midair before slamming him HARD against the ground. He nearly blacked out at that feeling.

Jane smirked as she got up. Nope, she wasn't anywhere NEAR one hundred percent, but she was sure that she just beat those two. She turned to see where Ranma was and paled as she saw that Werelion throw a HUGE blast at his still prone form. When the blast hit, she couldn't believe it. "NO!"

However, she should have looked behind her. Gar, even though he was badly hurt, stood up and started spinning his spear above his head in a propeller motion, faster and faster as he charged more and more power into it. "Okay, woman, time to pay the price." He grabbed the non-bladed end and swung downward, calling out his strongest attack. "SUPA THUNDA STRIKE!" A spiralling blast of electricity flew forward at the woman's prone back.

At that same moment, Thropan slammed his weapon, the two blades on each Nunchucku touching each other in the dirt. "SEISMIC DRAGON!" Golden energy, which quickly shaped itself into an Eastern Dragon flew out from the ground, mixing with Gar's attack and flying at the woman.

Jane only had enough time to turn around when she saw the blasts coming at her. All she could do was raise her arms up to block the powerful blasts as they knocked her back several yards.

Gar panted and fell to one knee, after this, he needed a vacation. "Did, did we get her."

Thropan groaned. "Not sure." He was breathing heavily, quite heavily. "I'll let you know if she doesn't fry us."

The Jagwere chuckled at that.

But Jane hadn't been beaten. She was knocked back several yards before stopping, the blast dissipating. Her clothes were shredded in several places, cuts and bruises forming all around her body as she crackled from the magical lightning. Shuddering and groaning, the Ex-Wyrm fell to one knee, both hands on the ground. Taking several deep breaths, she knew that she wouldn't be able to withstand any other sort of blast. "Hell with the plan, I'm just going to outright blast them, hopefully it will kill them." Concentrating, she lifted her head up, before lifting her hands up. "Dragon's INFERNO!" From her hands came two red-orange blasts that travelled to where the two Werecats were getting back onto their feet.

Gar and Thropan chuckled as they got up. Apparently, they had won, something that wasn't easy to do against a Dragon. They blinked at the sound of her voice and looked to where she was. "Oh SHIT!" They cried out, before the flames washed over them, blasting them back and knocking them out when they hit the wall.

Jane slumped after that blast and would have passed out if it wasn't for the hand that grabbed her on the shoulder. She looked up and her eyes widened. "How?"

"Heh, got lucky." Came the reply.

Jane was so happy that she didn't think about what she was doing, and she hugged the figure tightly. "Don't you EVER do that to me again."

The figure winced and hugged her. "Sorry, Jane."

A few moments earlier Onoli smirked as the blast hit home, creating a slight tremor in the ground. As soon as the blast cleared, there were no signs of the Smilodon. "Good riddance." He whispered to himself. Though he winced at the sight of so much destruction. He sighed a bit. "Main Guard will have a hernia over this."

He would have done more, but suddenly a shadow appeared overhead. Onoli looked up, and couldn't believe his eyes. The Smilodon had survived! And what was worse, he looked to only be a shadow, with one arm upraised, crackling with blue energy, his eyes red like hell flames, and he descended upon the Werelion like a Fallen Angel of Death. Which was the last thought before that glowing fist and arm smashed into his jaw and rib cage, breaking all the bones there, and knocking him onto his back hard.

As soon as he landed from that last ditch attack, Ranma slumped to his knees, he had used almost ALL of his Ki in that last attack. He knew that he wasn't going to be fighting anymore. He looked at the downed form of the Werelion and scoffed. Bastard had given him more trouble than what he was worth. He was about to leave, when he noticed a jewel on the ground. He wouldn't think much of it normally, but something told him to take it. So following this feeling, Ranma grabbed the green gem and pocketed it. He struggled to his feet and watched as Jane slumped down to her knees.

Hobbling, the Smilodon made his way to her. He blinked when she blasted the two Werecats. He wondered why she didn't do that before, but then shrugged it off as he got to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. He blinked when she looked surprise. "How?"

"Got lucky." Was his reply.

He was then surprised as she jumped up and hugged him tightly. "Don't you EVER do that to me again!"

He winced at the pain and worry in her voice and hugged her back gently. "I'm sorry, Jane."

 **by Philip Weigel**

Sitting in a chamber full of books, the leader of the Shadow Elves, Ecko. Frowning seriously, the leader wondered just how Jade had gotten to be so badly off. The Shadow Elf, who stood tall at a decent height of six feet. While he had a thin, but decent build, dark-bronzed skin and aged facial features with his silver hair, they were mostly hidden by the shawl and hood he wore to protect him from the light of day. The robes he wore were a dark forest green, with numerous archaic markings; especially that of crescent moons and stars. Looking up, he nodded as the door opened up and his guest walked in. "Greetings, Hidden Emperor Sabbo, I bid you welcome. I apologize for not having Crumpets and Tea like usual."

Sabbo, a man who stood at five-foot-six, had a solid build of muscle around his body, though around his chest and stomach, it looked to be fat and not muscle, he wore sandals on his feet, a hula grass skirt around his waist and he carried to pineapples in his hands. On his face was a wooden mystic mask that had two eyeholes on it to allow him to see. His arms were powerfully built; though if anyone saw him, they would think he was more silly than dangerous. Though that's how Sabbo liked it. "Master Ecko of the Shadow Elves, you do not have to be so formal with me, and, it is alright, just bring double what we normally have next time. Anyway, let's get down to business. Why did you call me here?"

The other man nodded and spoke up. "Have a seat." Sabbo nodded and sat down on one of the chairs that was in the middle of the room, Ecko took the other chair. "Well, you are undoubtedly aware of what is going on right now on Jade."

Sabbo snorted. "The Were Smilodon?"

"Not just him. But also the fact that he's teamed up with some of the most powerful and dangerous criminals on Jade."

The Hidden Emperor of Jade nodded. He had heard about that. "Yes, G'nolga of the Dwarven Clan, Hanza the Mercenary, Rook the Undead Knight of the East and youngest member of the Quarter Undead Knights, and Tanya'Rei, former High Priestess of El Dorado. Those four are trouble in and of themselves, with the Were Smilodon backing them, I'm afraid that they can do what they want to."

Ecko nodded slowly. "Yes, but did you hear the latest reports?"

"Ah, yes, the fact that a Dragon is with the Smilodon and under his, apparent, control." Sabbo shook his head. "It is unlikely that the Dragon is under his control, it is safer to assume that this Dragon is a supporter of the Questing Dragon and teamed up with the Smilodon to wreck havoc on the populous of Jade. Either that or the Dragon's just teaming up with the Smilodon for fun and adventure."

"It's more than likely the latter of the two." Ecko spoke quietly.

Sabbo nodded at that. That made some sense to him as well. "Well, yes, I did suspect that myself. Anyway, do you have any idea how this could have happened?"

Ecko shook his head and sighed. "I'm afraid not. I do not know why the populous would think that the Smilodons are linked to the dreaded Shadows in some way."

The fat, err, larger built man sighed and shook his head. "It's because of the Femnazi, remember them? You told me about the lies and rumors that they were spreading."

Blinking, Ecko nodded at that. "You're right, I had nearly forgotten about them." Cupping his chin in his hand, Ecko shook his head. "True, but they can't still be alive, can they?"

Sabbo smirked, although Ecko couldn't see it. "Well, actually, they are still alive, or were up until a week ago." Sabbo still got a chuckle out of the reports.

"Um, what happened?"

Chuckling, Sabbo answered the confused Dark Elf by singing his words. "The old bitches got ran over by some reindeer! Who got lost trying to find their way home! A boy with a bandanna was in the sleigh, so I don't think Christmas will come!"

Sweat Dropping, the older man coughed into his fist a bit. "Um, Sabbo?"

"Yes?"

"You're still a HORRIBLE singer."

Sabbo shrugged, he knew it, but that didn't mean he wouldn't sing just to bug people. "Is there anything else?"

"Hmm... Yes, how is Brunhildagard doing?"

Sabbo shook his head and sighed under his mask. "The woman was permanently injured even before the fight, I am surprised that she came out of retirement and took up the cause to go after the Smilodon, especially since Julia injured her so badly in the Tournament. But, she'll live, thankfully."

Ecko nodded his head and sighed a bit. "That's good. Anyway, I do want to know what happened at the council."

"Well, heh, you should have seen the mages when the Smilodon's mother burst down the doors, glowing like the fourth of July and swinging her Katana all over the place, screaming, 'I will, I will, slice you up!' It was quite the sight to behold." Sabbo stopped and started laughing as he recalled Magi, Merlin, Dee'em, and Bugie as they eeped in terror as the glowing Werecheetah was holding a DWARVEN STEEL Katana and swinging it around.

Blinking his eyes a bit, Ecko nodded slowly. "Uh huh."

"Heh, it was just funny to see is all."

"I guess." Replied the leader of the Shadow Elves.

 **by Philip Weigel**

Ranma, back in human form, and Jane, leaned on each other heavily as they limped their way out of Seer's Hamlet.

Looking at him as they crossed another rope bridge, Jane had to wonder why he wasn't back in hybrid form. He'd probably heal faster that way. She grabbed him by his shoulders as he stumbled a bit. She grimaced as that took a lot more energy than she was really willing to expend at that moment. "Hey, why don't you go back to your hybrid form, you'd probably heal faster that way."

Ranma shook his head and groaned. "Two reasons. One, I stand out more in that form. Two, I don't have any Ki left in me to use. I used it all up on that big guy." He grunted a bit. "It ain't like I'm a Dragon." He muttered, remembering that Herb was a partial Ki Dragon and had practically infinite reserves. "Sorry, just so tired." He said as he and Jane continued to move through the Hamlet.

Wondering what he meant by that Dragon quip, Jane continued to help Ranma move through Seer's Hamlet, ignoring the chaos and carnage around them. After a bit more, Jane blinked as she and Ranma came by this huge building, more like a fortress near the edge of the city. Still, it wasn't much of anything Jane was worried about. That is, until she saw the cellar door open. Shrugging, Jane knew that the best place to be in case someone decided to come after them was inside, she tugged at Ranma and started to lead him to the cellar. "Come on."

Ranma looked at the door she was leading him to and nodded. At least in the cellar he could recover his Ki a bit. When they got there, they blinked when another Werecat popped his head out. This one had yellowish-orange hair with dark spots, white fur on his face with two black eye stripes on his face, one over each eye, the Werecat was a bit tall and lanky, wearing a green sleeveless shirt and brown pants, with nothing on his feet. "Oh, hey, are you two alright? I heard that there was a lot of fighting going on, but I'm not supposed to be going out on any missions just yet. Do you two need a place to rest? I can't let you inside the main building, but you could probably rest in here." He said, helping the two of them down the stairs. "My name's Raphiel Rey, what's yours?"

Ranma, for his part, was surprised that someone on this world had a demeanor not unlike Kasumi's. "Thanks." He said in all honesty.

The purple haired woman nodded as Raphiel led them both down into the basement. Looking around, Jane could a cot jutting from the wall that wasn't very big, but it could work for two people laying down and resting.

The Werecheetah, who introduced himself as Raphiel, helped the two over to the cot and smiled as they laid down. "I'll get you a blanket or something. Hold on."

Watching Raphiel go, Ranma smiled lightly. At least there was someone on this world, that he hadn't met before, that didn't fear him. He then started to drift off to sleep a bit. He was tired and needed some rest.

On his right side, and with her back to the rest of the basement, Jane cuddled him lightly as she rested next to him, it couldn't hurt, could it?

Ranma jolted a bit when Raphiel shook him. The Werecheetah chuckled a bit nervously. "Sorry, I got your blanket."

The Smilodon in human form nodded and sighed as he started to fall asleep again. "Just... Wake us when the fighting ends."

Nodding, Raphiel tossed the blanket over them and started to clean up the basement some more. "Such a mess. Oh well, got to meet two new people." He smiled and went back to picking up the loose chains off of the floor before putting them back on the shelves.

Back on Earth...

Sitting up in his room, Strype groaned as the paralysis spell finally wore off. His eyes widened a lot. "Tiffany!" He gasped. Ignoring what had just happened the day previous, the Tiger Man got to his feet and looked over the edge of the crib. He sighed in relief as he saw his little princess sleeping there softly. Not wanting to leave Tiffany alone, but not wanting to run around the house in his boxers, Strype grabbed a pair of pants from the floor and put them on. Once on, he picked up Tiffany gently and walked out the door and headed down the stairs, looking for anyone. "Brianna? Genn? Someone here?" He asked, a sense of panic filling him as he realized that Tanya's spell must have messed with his Artifact powers temporarily longer than what he thought they would. Closing his eyes, he concentrated and could feel someone close by, but he couldn't tell who just yet.

Frowning lightly, Strype moved through the house, calling out the final two occupants in the building. "Genn? Brianna? Are you there?" He asked fearfully. His dread only increased when no one answered him. 'Dammit, Tanya! What did your bodyguard do?' He thought to himself.

(Flashback...)

Tanya smiled at Strype. "I know that you think that Genn or Brianna's going to save you, but I got my bodyguard handling it."

Strype gulped a bit as Tanya smirked victoriously.

(End Flashback...)

Strype frowned, if only he hadn't been caught off-guard like that. Shaking his head he walked to the living room and gasped loudly as he saw the beige carpets. 'BLOOD?!' He thought in alarm. There was a pool of dried blood on the carpets, as well as other fluids that he knew all too well. "My god, what happened?" He whispered to himself. Strype noted, thankfully, that there wasn't enough blood to indicate a fatal wound. It didn't make him feel too much better, but at least he knew that the person who got injured wouldn't die from blood-loss.

He looked up when he heard some muffled banging going on in the closet. Sighing that someone would still be around, Strype went over to the door...

And blinked as he saw Genn, wrapped up in a rug that was tied up with T.V. cords. "Genn?"

"Strype?! Where are you? Tanya's been here!" The Rakshasa spoke up quickly.

"I know." The Kryn said before grabbing the cords and snapping them with his tremendous strength.

After getting Genn out of her containment, Strype had to know what was going on.

The silver haired horned girl shuddered. "Tanya showed up through a portal. I would have stopped her, but when I saw the Smilodon behind her, I got to scared and nervous to do anything when he tied me up and tossed me into the closet."

Strype grimaced as he rocked Tiffany in his arms. The Smilodon had attacked? 'Pleasant.' He thought to himself irritably. His eyes widened in realization. "Genn, what about Brianna?"

Genn shuddered and relayed what she knew what happened between Brianna and the Smilodon. "And last I heard, Tanya and the Smilodon took her with them to Jade."

Strype wasn't one to feel many strong emotions. In fact, other than Theodore Diggers, he was probably the calmest one in the entire house. However, he did feel strong feelings for his friends and family. "WHAT?!" He winced at the level of his own voice and brought it down a tone. "What?!" He repeated, much softer this time. Suddenly certain clues started making themselves known to him... The Smilodon was angry at Julia because someone had manipulated him into attacking the Weapons Masters and the Armsmaster, Brianna was Julia's youngest daughter and now in the clutches of the Smilodon, the Smilodon was actually half Werecheetah and part of Britanny's, ergo Brianna's, heritage and Clan, the Smilodon had enough skill and ability to take down one of the Weapons Masters of Jade, the same Smilodon had gathered enemies of his family together as allies, Tanya had shown up and had a "talk" with him, Tanya had a bodyguard with her, the Smilodon had been with Tanya, and lastly the blood on the floor... "The blood!" He gasped.

The bronzed skinned girl blinked. "Blood? What blood?"

"The carpets, the blood!" Strype shook his head and pointed behind Genn. "Look."

The Rakshasa turned and paled. "My god." She whispered out. While Brianna was one for rough sex, and boy did Genn know that, she wasn't one to go for something that caused her a lot of pain, especially if she would bleed because of it. Another thing that came to Genn's mind was the fact that Brianna wouldn't just put out for anyone. 'So why did she and the Smilodon have sex?' She thought to herself.

Strype grimaced a bit. "Well, at least one thing is clear." Genn looked at him. "Brianna's still alive at least."

Genn looked at him. "How do you figure that?" From just what she said and the evidence in front of them, Genn would have thought that her friend was dead by now.

"Simple. There is a blood, not enough to kill someone though, thankfully." After working with Agency Zero for awhile now, Strype knew how much blood was needed for someone to bleed to death, and thankfully, while a bit of blood on the carpets, it wasn't enough to bleed to death. "Plus, they took Brianna to Jade. I'm thinking that they took her to be a prisoner to use to get Julia or the other Weapons Masters to come out to fight. I hate to say this, but what good is a dead prisoner?"

Genn grimaced a bit and thought about it. It was true a dead, or Undead, Brianna would be useless to the Smilodon for whatever plans he may have had. Not to mention that whoever this Manipulator was probably needed the Smilodon to take Julia and the Weapons Masters out.

"Can we get to Jade?" Strype asked her after some time.

Genn looked at him and shook her head. "Not really. While Gina has some Light Gates that can go to Jade, and her father has some Gate Scrolls that lead to Jade, I don't know which ones will lead where. As far as I know, I or you could choose a Gate Scroll that leads out to the middle of the ocean. Or into a Dragon's Den when they're feeding. And Light Gates only take us where we've been before. We can't get to anywhere new with them. We're stuck here right now."

Strype sighed irritably. "This sucks." He muttered to himself and walked out of the room, trying not to think terrible thoughts about his old friend.

Genn shuddered a bit. 'Please be okay, Brianna, wherever you are.' She thought.

 **by Philip Weigel**

Ranma groaned as he rolled over and fell out of bed and onto the floor with a crash. "Uhh… Now I remember why I don't use bed's too often." He mumbled to himself as he stood up. How long had he been sleeping anyway? Looking around a bit, he blinked as he saw Jane looking at the opposite wall and tapping it a bit. "Um, Jane? What are you doing?"

The Ex-Wyrm turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "You're up?" She asked in a bit of surprise, from what she knew of his sleeping habits, he could sleep through an army marching through the room as long as they didn't bother him. Hell, one time one of those stupid Deadians actually tried something to him while he was asleep.

Naturally, everyone who had been watching had been surprised when said Deadian was sent flying back in pieces while the Smilodon slept.

So it was a bit understandable that Jane was a little surprised when she saw Ranma awake, on the ground and looking at her a bit as he shook his head.

"Yeah, I'm up." He said, while wiping the sleep from his eyes and standing up. He sighed a bit in relief. At least now he didn't feel so tired like he did before. Tilting his neck side to side a bit and getting the kinks out, Ranma walked over to her. "Well, what's wrong?" He asked as he looked at the wall. It seemed normal enough.

Jane shook her head and shushed him a bit. "Quiet. I heard something." Like all Dragons and Dragonkin, Jane had incredible hearing that could rival a Jagwere's or a Wererat hearing. Placing her left ear against the wall again, she listened again and nodded a bit. "Ranma?"

"Hmm? What is it?" He asked her, trying NOT to look at her ass as she leaned next to the wall, her ear against it.

Turning to look at him, Jane had a bit of a serious cast on her features. "I've been hearing some whimpering from behind this wall for a bit now."

He blinked and looked at her. "Um, how long?"

Jane's eye twitched a bit. "How should I know? I don't carry a freaking watch!" Jane gave Ranma a look, what it was, the Smilodon couldn't quite figure out, her purple eyes tracing his form with apparent interest as she scowled out, "You're an idiot, you know that?"

Ranma blinked and thought about it. True, she wouldn't have a watch on. No one in this stinking world seemed to own ANY technology. Not that it was a completely bad thing; however, it did make getting to any place on time a pain in the butt. "Um… Sorry?"

The Dragon waved her hand a bit. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, stand back, I'm going to break this wall." Rearing her left fist back, Jane was ready to make pudding out of the wall.

Ranma nodded and stepped back a bit. Hmm... Maybe he should go hybrid? He DID feel better after all. So thinking, he shifted forms, bones lengthening, muscles expanding, fur growing and teeth enlarging as he went into his hybrid form. Ranma grimaced a bit and pulled his tail out of his pants. Man, did he hate that.

Jane barely noticed Ranma shift forms. She was more intent on the wall. She then thrust her fist forward, intent on punching the wall down...

Instead, her hand just stayed there, against the VERY solid stone. "...Ow..." Jane whimpered. She reflexively cradled her left hand in her right one. Okay, that hadn't been the smartest move she could make.

Ranma winced at hearing that. "You okay?" He asked, looking at her as she cradled her hand a bit.

"I will be..." The Ex-Wyrm sighed. "Damn wall is more solid than it looked." She grimaced a bit. She was tough and strong, and she knew it. Stupid magic walls.

Ranma nodded at that. He had figured that as well. "Solid stone walls are not easily broken." He muttered to himself. Still... "Mind if I try?" He asked her. After all, she might want to try again and would get pissed at him for interfering.

"All right..." Jane grumbled. She wondered if he could do it or not. After all, it couldn't hurt.

Ranma nodded and stepped up to the wall after Jane had moved back a bit. Rearing his right arm back, he squeezed his hand into a fist and swung forward...

...And created a large smacking sound, but no change, save for a crack in the wall. Ranma grimaced a bit. "Damn, must be magically enforced or something." He shook his hand a bit to get rid of the stinging sensation.

Nodding her head, Jane said, "I wouldn't be surprised. Why do you think I hit the wall instead of the door? I can FEEL the door has such enchantments placed on it."

Ranma blinked a bit. "There's a door?" He asked, feeling rather stupid.

Jane frowned. "Didn't I just tell you I was listening to them through a door!?" She looked a bit peeved at him for some unknown reason.

Ranma blinked and thought back a bit. "Um, no... You said the wall, not the door." He said to her honestly.

Jane blushed. "Oops." She couldn't believe that she pulled a ditzy moment worthy of Six there.

Ranma shrugged a bit and looked around a bit. Yep, Jane was right, there was a door there. Just behind a moved tool case too. "Hmm... Might be able to pick the lock, if there is a lock." He muttered to himself. Shrugging he walked over to the door and examined it.

Jane shook her head. "I told you I can already feel it magically sealed." Being a Dragon REALLY had advantages at times.

Ranma nodded and sighed. "Damn, just a handle. Magical locks. I HATE magic." He muttered a bit loudly. Sighing, he looked at the wall where he cracked it. Then he looked at his hand. Hmm... Didn't hurt much, in fact whatever pain he felt was already gone. He shrugged a bit and went back to the spot where he punched the wall the first time and hit it again. This time, the crack got more noticeable. "Damn, I REALLY wish I knew Pig Boy's Bakusai Tenketsu here."

Jane watched this with interest. "Just pace yourself. You don't want to tire yourself out too quickly." After all, they needed to get the hell out of there soon. She shouldn't have to worry about dragging his handsome carcass all over Jade.

The Smilodon nodded and reared his fist back again. He punched the wall a bit harder that time, causing his fist to get slightly embedded into the wall before he pulled back.

"Looks like it's giving a bit." Ranma murmured.

The Ex-Wyrm nodded her head. "Keep up at it."

Ranma took a breath and continued to hit the wall with his massive strength. Again and again he hit the thing until a hole started to appear in the wall. "Damn, this is starting to hurt a bit." He grimaced.

"Then stop," Jane told him. "I said pace yourself! Give your hand time to heal." Surprisingly, or maybe not, her voice was laced with concern.

Ranma nodded. Still... He WAS curious. So he leaned forward and looked through the fist-sized hole in the wall. "Shit!" He grimaced after a bit of looking. Okay, now THAT sucked.

"What is it?" Jane asked; interested in what he saw.

He looked at her, his face a bit somber. "There are a couple of people in there. I can't tell who though. But they're chained up and not looking well." He scoffed a bit, and HE was supposed to be the greatest evil on Jade.

Jane frowned. "We better try to find a way to get them out then..." She said reluctantly.

Ranma nodded. "Right." Now while Ranma wasn't the brightest apple that fell off the tree, he could figure that magic probably needed to be whole to work completely. With that hole in the wall, the magic just may have been dissipated entirely. "Hope this works." He muttered.

"Hope what works?" Jane asked him, wondering what he was going to do. Her eyes widened as his whole body started to glow blue before he smashed both fists to either side of the hole, going straight through the wall, causing a large section to crumble. "Wow." She said, impressed by the strength. No wonder Dragon-lore spoke of something that was so strong that even Elder Dragons quaked in fear.

Ranma nodded while shaking his hands a bit. "Yeah, well, let's get in there and get them out." He said. While he might have been… Angry at the people of Jade… He still couldn't turn down someone who needed help, provided that they didn't try to kill him of course.

Stepping inside, both Ranma and Jane blinked as they saw two females chained up against the far wall near each other. It was understandable that Jane didn't recognize them, as she had never seen them before.

Looking at the light purple haired, pointy eared Elf and the shorter, orange haired girl, Ranma narrowed his eyes a bit. Where had he seen that Elf before?

Sylvia, the Elf raised her head tiredly. Her eyes widened at the large figure in the room and the female companion. Tearing up, she tried to shrink away from them. "Please, no more!" She whimpered fearfully.

Ranma looked at Jane, who merely shrugged at the weird behavior. Neither of them knew what to make of this, other than something had happened to the girl.

Hearing a gasp of fear, the two looked up and saw the Weretigress, who was looking at them in terror. "You!" She cried out. "Th, the Smilodon!"

Trisha, the Weretigress, whimpered as the monster from her nightmares growled a bit and shook his head. "Yeah, what about it?" She shuddered. This wasn't the female that she and Sylvia had met awhile back, who knew what he would do to her.

Ranma blinked as the Elf whimpered out that she almost wished Miss Ranko was there to help them. Ranma stumbled a bit when he heard that. NOW he knew where those two were from. "Double shit." He cussed under his breath.

Looking at him, Jane raised an eyebrow. "You know them?" She asked a bit coolly.

Ranma waved it off. "Not directly." Clearing his throat he looked at Jane. "Look, Jane, can ya free her?" He asked while pointing at Sylvia. "I'll free the other one." After all, he didn't want Trisha and Sylvia to link his male and female forms together. Nor did he see any reason to let Jane know of his curse.

The Dragon in human form wondered why she was following his order, then shrugged it off and did as he asked her to do. Walking over to the Elf girl, she gripped the manacles that held her to the wall and snapped them with relative ease. After all, they weren't being magically enhanced for toughness, so it was rather easy to snap them. Jane rolled her eyes and sighed when the Elf practically glomped her, her arms around the Ex-Wyrm's neck as she sobbed out how glad she was to be free. "Yeah, yeah." Jane grumbled slightly.

Trisha rubbed her neck and wrists. Finally, the damn manacles were off of her, now she could shift forms and get her and Sylvia the hell out of there. She stood up, only to fall onto the Smilodon, who reflexively caught her.

Looking at that, Jane narrowed her eyes a bit. What WAS he doing? Trying to pick up another girl? She then shook her head a bit. No, he wasn't trying to pick up another girl; he just caught that girl on reflex. She shrugged a bit and looked at the young Elf. "You two should get out of here. Go to a healer or something."

Sylvia nodded, that was the best damned advice that someone had given her in awhile.

Ranma rolled his eyes as the Weretigress tried to push away from him. He didn't even have his arms wrapped around her and she couldn't push away. "Look, ya don't have the strength to push away from me right now and run."

Trisha ignored that and tried to push away from him and run; dammed Dwarven Steel cutting into her skin and disrupting her healing. She eeped a bit when the Soul Eater picked her up and turned to look at the other two; Trisha shuddered when she felt unusual feelings flow through her body. Dammit, what was wrong with her?

Ranma sighed a bit and looked at Jane, who was looking at him coolly, yet he could easily see the anger in her eyes. What the hell was that all about? Was it because he was helping this Weretigress? 'Well, whatever.' He thought to himself. "Look, Jane, these two need to get somewhere safe." He could ignore the fact that it was these two who had made hiding in his girl form impossible. After all, outside of that first meeting with them, they didn't seem too bad.

Jane nodded and raised an eyebrow. Even after all the time that the fools on Jade had tried to kill him, he just couldn't seem to let them die if he could help. "Fine…" She bit out and looked at the Elf, who was limping towards the hole in the wall. "Hold on, girl." She said before looping the Elf's arm around her shoulder. "I'll help you walk."

Sylvia nodded. "Thank you."

Jane shrugged it off and helped her walk. Now where would they go?

Both Jane and Ranma groaned a bit as they heard someone come down into the basement; though Ranma quit groaning when he heard the voice. "Hello? Anyone here? Oh man!" The voice cried in despair. "I just had this room cleaned too! Hey! Whoever did this, destroying Edge Guard property is against the law!" The male voice called out as he walked to the hole in the wall.

Ignoring the large male Werecat in the room, the Werecheetah looked at Jane. "Um, what's going on?" He asked, looking around a bit.

Jane shook her head. At least this guy wasn't trying to kill them for some stupid reason. "Nothing much, just found these two," the Purple haired girl motioned to Sylvia and then nodded her head to the Weretigress, "down here chained up and looking pretty bad. Listen, Raphiel was it?" She asked. Seeing him nod, she continued. "Do you know any clinics? Preferably ones that won't ask questions or are empty right now?"

In Ranma's arms, Trisha shivered a bit more. What was wrong with her? She was in the arms of the soul sucking monster. Of course, if she had remembered back to when she met "Ranko" she wouldn't be so worried at that moment.

Raphiel blinked at the large Werecat, just now seeing him. "Wow! You're bigger than Onoli! Are you some sort of Werepanther?" The Werecheetah asked, he then blinked and narrowed his eyes a bit. "No, not a Werepanther, Werepanthers don't have golden highlights in their hair."

Jane blinked and looked at Ranma's fur. She didn't see any golden highlights in his fur. Coincidentally, Ranma, Sylvia and Trisha were thinking the same thing; though Trisha found it harder to concentrate with each moment.

Raphiel smiled weakly. "I suppose you can't see them. They're really hard to see, but you do have some light golden, or rather, very light yellow, highlights to your fur." He said a bit sheepishly.

Ranma shrugged a bit, though that DID answer his question from awhile back when he was alone on this world one day. "Never mind, do you know where we can go?" He asked, getting impatient. Though he wasn't exactly sure why.

Raphiel nodded and led them all outside. Pointing straight out of town he spoke up. "About 300 yards straight that way is a small clinic. It's mostly for travelers who are tired, hurt or worn out."

Jane nodded and blinked as the Werecheetah started to head into town. Wasn't he the Edge Guard? Shouldn't he be helping people?

Seeming to sense what Jane was thinking, Raphiel turned to her and grinned a bit sheepishly. "Um, sorry, but I have to go and help out the wounded Paladins. Seems some Demons and a Dragon was attacking them."

Ranma and Jane both blink-blinked. Shouldn't it have been Undeads? Not Demons?

 **by Philip Weigel**

Around an hour later, Jane blinked as she saw a small building on the side of the road. "Just where the Werecheetah said it would be." She said, a little bit amused and amazed that the Werecheetah didn't lie to her.

With her arm around the purple haired woman's shoulder, Sylvia nodded and sighed in relief. Well, at least the male Were Smilodon seemed to tolerate her presence, kind of like Miss Ranko did. "Yeah." She idly glanced behind her and grimaced. Trisha was shivering even worse than before and seemed really tense. Were the rumors true after all? Did the Smilodon actually suck a person's soul right out of them? Or maybe they only absorbed the soul of Werecats of the opposite gender. After all, Trisha never acted that way around the female Smilodon…

Okay, that wasn't totally true, but after getting to know Miss Ranko a little, Trisha wasn't AS nervous around the other Werecat as she was before. But still, she didn't act all nervous, fidgety, and scared stiff all at the same time. Just what was up with that?

Ranma frowned as the girl in his arms shuddered again. What was up with that? It wasn't like he was hurting her or anything. 'Must be the cold or something.' He reasoned. Though, to him, it sure didn't feel very cold out. He wasn't touching any bruises or any place improper, so he didn't have the faintest clue what was going on with the girl. He shook his head as Jane pulled on the door and grimaced. "What's wrong?"

The Dragon in human form turned to him and shook her head. "Door's locked." It wouldn't be a problem for her or for Ranma to break it down, but she had a feeling that the two girls she was with weren't exactly used to doing what it took to survive.

The Smilodon rolled his eyes and adjusted the Weretigress in his arms some more. "Jus' kick it down. I don't have time ta pick the lock." Why the hell did she need to tell him that? Oh wait, the door might have been unlocked in the first place, no need to do more damage than necessary.

Jane rolled her eyes. "I was going to do that anyway." She muttered. Taking a breath, even with the Elf leaning on her, the Ex-Wyrm leaned back a bit and did a front kick forward, shattering the frame of the door.

The Elf was slightly impressed and intimidated by the casual feat of strength that the woman just showed her as she blew the door off of the hinges. If the woman had kicked her like that, she'd probably be hurt pretty bad, or worse. She had to idly wonder just how strong the Smilodon was.

Shaking his head, Ranma ducked down a bit to avoid banging his head on the top of the door frame as he stepped inside. Looking around, he saw that it was a bit bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside. There was a room to the right and to the left; there was a door that was closed. "Hopefully, they have beds." He muttered a bit.

Jane nodded and walked to the room on the right. "Yeah… There should be some stuff in here… Maybe." She added at the end. Of course, if there were any medical supplies, mundane or magical, she was going to steal them.

Sighing, Ranma walked over to the left door and nodded as it opened up. Looking around, he could see that it was some sort of examination room. He blinked as thoughts of Nabiki and Kasumi soaps came to mind that one time he actually bothered to watch what they were watching. He couldn't remember much of it, since it had been a while ago, but he did remember something about illicit liaisons or something like that in a medical examination room. Shaking his head, he placed the trembling Weretigress onto the table. Shaking his head, he went over to the cabinets and started digging around for different supplies. "You know, girl, I'm not going to hurt you, so calm down." He said after a while and noticed that she was still trembling a bit.

Trisha shuddered a bit. Ever since the Were Smilodon had picked her up back in that dungeon, she had been feeling this disconcerting feeling envelope and wrap around her body. It was an oddly… Pleasant feeling, yet undesirable at the same time. Was this how it felt to get your soul sucked out of your body? It sure didn't feel like when silver touched a Were's body, that stuff burned considerably. Maybe he was just sampling her soul a bit at a time and would take it all before he left her. She had to bite back a moan as she felt her nipple harden considerably against her shirt. Dear Bastet-Sama, what was wrong with her?

Jane grumbled as she looked through the cabinets in the room she was in. Didn't ANYONE keep any bandages or anything around here? All she saw was some tape, salves, and various potions in the cabinets; she planned on stealing the majority of it before she left.

"Um…" Came the voice of the Elf. "Thank you. For saving me and Trisha back there."

Jane turned to face her and coolly raised a dark purple eyebrow. She was actually thanking her for something? Not many people did that. "Aren't you afraid of me? I am working with the Smilodon after all."

Sylvia shook her head. "No way. I mean, yeah, you're with the Smilodon and all." And since most people were deathly afraid of the Smilodon, they'd find the purple haired woman guilty by association, even if she hadn't done anything wrong. "But… You two don't seem to be that bad."

The purple eyed woman frowned lightly. Had she really gotten so soft that where before she would have eaten someone who annoyed her, that now she either just ignored them or worked with them? 'Can't believe how soft I'm getting. I used to eat Elves, now I'm saving one?' She asked herself. Of course, she used to eat Elves, cows, Trolls, Ogres, humans and other races. 'It doesn't matter.' She thought to herself. She was basically given a chance to get back at the people she hated, all she had to do was behave around the inferior races and she'd be okay. Of course, G'nolga could kick her ass if she wanted to, Rook was pretty damned powerful, Tanya was a mage, one she could respect at the very least, and then there was Ranma, the most feared being of them all. Thinking that, Jane sweat-dropped a bit, a stupid Werecat was more feared than a Dragon, it just wasn't right.

She was hot, unbearably so, her clothing felt REALLY tight against her body, not to mention the fact that she could barely think straight. The Weretigress moaned a bit and rubbed her legs together as her loins heated up unbearably. Dammit, what was wrong with her? She shouldn't be getting like this. "Calm down Trish, Sylvia… The Smilodon… Mommy." She whimpered out.

Ranma turned and looked at her; the girl REALLY wasn't looking so well. Frowning a bit, he walked up to the Weretigress and placed a hand on her forehead. "Hey, you okay?" Last thing he needed was for her to catch the flu and die, then someone turn right around and blame him for it.

Trisha winced as she felt the Smilodon touch her head. The back of his hand sent electric sensations coursing through her, especially increasing the incessant pounding in her skull. "Please..." Oh gods, the feelings were getting worse.

Ranma frowned a bit deeper. What the hell was wrong with her? She was rather hot on her forehead, hmm, might have a fever. He grimaced, just what he needed, her to die because of the flu, and he'd get blamed for it. "Please... What?" He asked her seriously.

"Please..." Trisha gasped. Her whole body shivered. "Please don't eat my soul..." She managed to whimper out before crying, tears started to trek down her facial fur. Oh, her lifetime had been pure hell. The capture by the female Smilodon, (who was rather hospitable) not having the Edge Guard listen to her, the sheer torture that monster did to her, and now having her soul eaten bit by bit by a hungry Smilodon. At least the pain would end if he was merciful.

Ranma's eye twitched. Where the HELL did she get the idea he was going to eat her soul? Hell, the only thing he ate was cooked food from the animals that were slaughtered, and he wasn't talking about Werecats any. "Where the hell do you get THAT idea from?!" He hissed out to her, quite angry that she would think he would do something like that. He was no monster; at least he didn't think so.

However, acting as he was towards the tired and abused Weretigress as he was now, Ranma indeed seemed like one to Trisha. "S-sorry..." She whimpered out. She just wanted this pain to end. She just wanted to die.

Ranma snorted a bit. He couldn't understand what the heck was wrong with her. Last time they had seen each other, she wasn't this bad. Of course, last time they had seen each other, he was in female form. "Yeah, whateveah." He said while feeling her face a bit. "You're rather warm." He said. "Feeling sick?"

"A... A little..." Trisha panted out, sweating. "Head hurts... Stomach hurts..." She winced. "Other places too..." She admitted. She wasn't about to tell him her uterus felt like it was on fire. Just because she was a Werecat didn't mean she was a slut sleeping around.

Ranma shook his head. "Dammit." He sighed a bit. He looked at the cabinet. "Just hold on a second." He said and went over to the cabinet. Reaching in, he pulled out a vial of green liquid. He turned to her and held the bottle up. "This a healing' potion or sumthin'?"

Sitting up as best she could, Trisha tried to concentrate, to see the vial. "Don't know... Don't see a label..." Of course, she should have realized that the label was on the other side of the bottle.

Ranma rolled his eyes and walked over to her and placed the vial in her hands. "Now do you see?" He couldn't read the strange language that these people used. Those weird symbols that he had seen all over this place, he didn't know what the hell they were, nor could he read them. They seemed like Kanji, but he wasn't sure.

Blinking her eyes, Trisha was TRYING to keep her vision focused. It was just so hard to, with all the pounding she felt. And the fire in her belly just kept getting worse.

"Well?" Ranma asked a bit gruffly as he stared at the girl. What WAS taking so long? It shouldn't be THAT hard to read a freaking label, should it?

After a moment, Trisha said, "It's a wart remover."

Ranma groaned. "Okay." He said and went back to the cabinet, digging around for something that could work.

Trisha watched Ranma searching. She didn't know why but she kept staring at his butt. She had to fight off a sudden drool attack as he unconsciously flexed his ass.

Ranma shook his head. He grabbed three containers, each with a different liquid in them, one blue, one green, and one yellow. He turned to her and wondered just why she looked even worse than before. Shaking his head, he walked over to her and placed the three vials next to the Weretigress. "Any of these healing' potions?" He asked.

Looking over the three bottles, Trisha groaned. "Herpes, warts, and gonorrhea..." Trisha managed a small chuckle. "God, this sounds like Tirga's doctor."

Ranma shook his head. He didn't know who this Tirga person was, but he had a feeling that whoever it was, he or she must have spent a lot of time at the doctor's office. "Well... I don't think there's a healing' potion up there." He said and shook his head.

Trisha nodded and groaned. That burning feeling was really getting to her. She looked up at the smilodon. Bastet, he looked rather nice. "What's your name?"

The Smilodon raised an eyebrow and looked at her. At least she wasn't so terrified anymore, if the fact that she wasn't looking at him in stark terror meant anything. "Ranma." He said honestly.

The Weretigress nodded. "Trisha..."

Ranma nodded. "Okay." He said. He already knew her name from before, but he had nearly forgotten their names. He sniffed the air some. There was that smell again. Just what was it? He mentally slapped himself when an errant thought came to his head. Dammit! He didn't need to be thinking such perverted thoughts at that moment.

Finally, the Weretigress just gave up. She had been trying to fight all these feelings and it was making her feel worse and worse. So fuck it! She was going to go along with it, and hopefully she'd get better. "Your name is Ranma?" Trisha repeated. "Nice name... At least I know who I'll be sleeping with."

Ranma got a bit bug-eyed at that. "Wha?" He said, just before the Weretigress pounced on him.

"You hear something?" Sylvia asked, her pointed ears twitching a bit.

Jane raised an eyebrow. "Hear what?" She didn't hear anything. Of course, she DID have her head in one of the cabinets, surrounded by medical supplies as she looked them over to determine which ones she would take with.

Sylvia shook her head. "Nothing. Just thought I heard a crash is all." She was CERTAIN that she heard a crash. Elves, Jagweres and Dragons had VERY sensitive hearing, better than nearly any other race out there.

Trisha purred as she had the smilodon on his back. For some reason, the electric sensation she felt as the kissed was helping to ease her pounding headache. And just felt NICE!

Ranma blinked once, twice, three times, before shrugging it off and returning the kiss. Wrapping his arms around the girl he found himself, to his shock, purring back against her. Idly, he remembered the last time a girl jumped him like this; it hadn't gone like this though. He groaned when he felt a certain sensation in his pants start hardening.

Trisha tentatively used her tongue to push into the Smilodon's mouth. This felt good, but she was still VERY nervous. The first AND last time she had sex, she had given herself to that rather nice Weretiger... Who happened to dump her three hours after they did the deed. She didn't want to be thought of as a sex-toy, but she just wanted, no, NEEDED to be with this man right now.

Ranma grunted under the woman's assault. Damn, she was rather hot, and she was giving her body to him. Hmm... Might as well take her offer. Any thoughts of him becoming a slut were ruthlessly suppressed by his libido. Growling a bit, Ranma pulled back and smirked viciously at the Weretigress, before grabbing her shirt and pulling it up and off of her.

Trisha gasped as her breasts were freed as the Were Smilodon viciously tore her jerkin. "R-Ranma!" Trisha shouted in embarrassment. "P-please be gentle!"

Ranma nodded a bit and fixated on her furry orbs. Grinning a bit, he leaned forward and gave her breasts a long lick. The feel of fur on his rough, feline tongue was quite different.

Leaning her head back, Trisha moaned loudly. "Ah! Ah! Ah! AH! Y-yessss..." She hissed, pushing her chest out to his face.

Purring a bit, Ranma caressed her back with his rough hands while nibbling and licking her breasts. Idly, he was comparing them to Brianna's, before the girl had shifted to that short hybrid form. These were furrier and a bit fuller than the blonde girl's orbs, he could only wonder about the rest of her body as well.

Trisha just purred. "R-Ranmaaaaaa..."

Growling a bit, Ranma squeezed Trisha's ass with his hands while continuing his work on her right breast. He frowned as that restrictive cloth got in the way. Well, he could take care of that. Gripping the sides of her pants, he unsheathed his claws and shredded her pants and underwear, before going back to her ass and squeezing her there. Ranma purred in satisfaction, now he could freely grab her ass-cheeks without that stupid cloth getting in the way.

The Weretigress mewled like a helpless kitten. She felt so immature, so childish sounding like that. But she couldn't help it! She liked it! She liked having her orange-furred naked body on display for the Were Smilodon. "Please be gentle..." She managed to whimper again, pressing her ass back into his hands.

Ranma smirked a bit. So she wanted him to be gentle huh? Well, at least he wouldn't be AS rough as with the other girls, who demanded sex from him. Though, it was getting a bit harder to concentrate on being gentle and not just taking the girl fast and hard right there and then. Licking a hardened nipple and scratching her ass a bit, he had to wonder just why he was doing this with someone he hardly knew.

Leaning her head back, Trisha continued to mewl. "S-so good..." She whimpered, her hands going to Ranma's shoulders to help balance herself and rub his shoulders.

Purring and grunting a bit, Ranma stood up and lifted Trisha up, before laying her face down on the bed, her ass hanging over the side as he pulled off his shirt, then dropped his pants and boxers.

Trying to look over her shoulder, Trisha blushed. This was it. She was going to be taken. Whimpering a little, she spread her legs for Ranma.

Purring the Were Smilodon got behind her and positioned his large, furry cock at her pussy. He yowled, an electric sensation running through him as he felt her fluids splash over him. Purring he bent over a bit and placed his hands on either side of her head before pushing in a bit.

Her eyes widening in shock, Trisha yowled loudly. "BY BASTET!" The Weretigress screamed, her loins felt ablaze as she felt that smilodon cock invade her tight tigress folds.

Ranma grunted a bit and continued to push into her. One thing he noticed, idly, was that she was large enough that he didn't have to coax and massage her inner folds much to get her to take his member in. He was quite thankful for that, considering how freaking large he really was.

Pressing her head against the bed, Trisha yowled louder. "S-so big!" She cried out, literally. Her claws were gripping and tearing at the bed-sheets.

Purring, Ranma gripped her shoulders and laid his chest on her back as he continued to push in. Damn, she was bigger than the other girls, but she sure was a bit tighter than them. He sighed and purred a bit as he felt his hips meet her ass.

Yowling louder, Trisha's tail went to wrap around Ranma's waist. "K-keep it in there!" She begged. She could feel the electric sensations from his cock coursing through her pussy, relieving some of the heat she felt.

Ranma grunted a bit and wrapped his hands around her upper body to squeeze and caress her breasts. He purred a bit, his tail wagging back and forth as she grinded her butt against him.

Trisha groaned louder, grinding her ass back against his hips. "Yesssssss..." The Weretigress hissed, tears going down her cheeks. "Feels so good... Please don't stop. Please!"

Ranma purred a bit and pulled out suddenly, before thrusting back in hard enough to shake the bed a bit. He yowled a bit, her warm and wet pussy sending euphoric sensations through him.

Arching her back, Trisha cried out in passion and pain. "YES! S-so good! Please! More! MORE!"

Purring, Ranma grinned and built up speed as he continued to plunder the Weretigress hot little twat with his monster member. As he did that, he squeezed and caressed her breasts mercilessly. His hot, sticky pre-cum slid out of his member and into her hot depths as he continued to couple with her.

Trisha's body thrashed as she continued to feel Ranma fuck her with abandon. She was beyond words for now, and could only rowl and hiss as her pussy was being jack hammered.

Purring, Ranma nuzzled her neck as he continued to plunder her tight little twat. His hands grasped and squeezed her breasts mercilessly as he raised his head to lick her ear. God did this feel swell.

The Weretigress panted and mewled. She could feel that thick meat sliding back and forth in her. She wanted it, oh how she wanted it all! It was taking away the pain and making her feel SO good! She didn't want this to end!

Grunting a bit, Ranma moved his right hand from her right breast to rub up and down her abdomen. He idly noted that he felt a rather hard ball of some sort when he got close to her slit. Not really knowing what it was, or what it could do, Ranma pinched and rolled the Weretigress clit between his thumb and index finger.

Trisha arched her back as her entire body stiffened. "RRRRAAAANNNMAAAAAAA!" The Weretigress shouted. That did it. That clit-pinching was the last bit of stimulus she needed to send her over the edge. Rowling in pleasure, her pussy tightened and clenched around Ranma's member, trying to coax him for his seed.

Grunting, Ranma moaned and shuddered as his member expanded at the base, his semen pushing through his cock until it exploded out of the head of his member, filling the Weretigress love channel and womb with his Were Smilodon seed.

Trisha purred huskily as she felt the smilodon seed flood her Weretigress womb. "S-so good..." She mewled as her body started to lose strength.

Ranma growled as Trisha slumped a bit. Oh no, he wasn't done yet, she got him worked up, he needed to get off at least one more time or he'd have a freaking boner for hours. So thinking he pulled out of her pussy. She seemed rather full there, but idly, he wondered about that other hole of hers.

Panting, Trisha looked back at Ranma. "R-ranma?" She mewled pathetically.

Ranma purred and smirked at her. Without saying anything, he grabbed her ass-cheeks with his hands, having taken them off of her breasts and clit a moment ago, and squeezed her there.

Trisha purred. "Yess..." She hissed. "Your hands feel SO good..."

Purring a bit more, Ranma spread her ass-cheeks a bit, before placing the head of his Smilodon manhood at her anus and start to push in. "OOOOOHHH!" He moaned. Damn, she was MUCH tighter in her ass.

Her eyes widening, Trisha yowled loudly. "OW! R-RANMA!"

Not listening, or perhaps not caring at that moment, Ranma continued to push into her tight, little, hot and heavenly anus. She was so freaking tight that he had to take shorter thrusts to get in. In a way, it reminded him of when he did Six or G'nolga, with their twats being so damn tight. He purred a bit as the head of his member slid into her rectum. It was all downhill from here.

Trisha yowled loudly in pain. She cried a bit as she buried her head into the bed. "It hurts! IT HURTS!"

Ranma stopped as he was halfway in. He looked at her and frowned. "It hurts?" He asked her, just staying where he was. Sighing a bit, Ranma rubbed Trisha's back. This actually hurt? It felt good to him. So why was it hurting her?

Feeling Ranma rub her back, the Weretigress started to relax. "Please go slow... Please?" She whimpered. "Tirga did me there one time... He wouldn't stop... Wouldn't stop..." She barely choked out.

Ranma frowned. Gee, whoever this Tirga guy was, he seemed like a real jerk. Nodding, Ranma started to push in again, this time going a bit slower than he had before.

Trisha closed her eyes as she braced herself. "It wasn't so bad this time."

Ranma nodded and continued to push in slowly into the Weretigress ass. Damn, with how tight she was back here, he could take a guess that it probably didn't feel too good to have your ass invaded by a large prick like his.

After a moment, Trisha could feel that meat packed into her to the hilt. She gently wrapped her striped tail around Ranma's waist. "Please be gentle."

Grunting a bit, Ranma bent down and licked her ear while his hands cupped and massaged her breasts. "I hope ya know..." He said while grinding his hips into her buns and caressing her breasts. "I'm not the bad guy here."

Trisha nodded her head slowly. "At least you're not accountable for rape..." She joked weakly.

Ranma grunted a bit and squeezed her breasts tightly. "I should screw yer ass hard for that remark." He said, licking her ear and pulling out a bit. He wasn't a rapist. Hell, every time he had sex, the women jumped him, not the other way around. Purring a bit, Ranma then shoved forward, quite hard.

Trisha whimpered a little. She was sensitive back there.

Purring a bit, Ranma smiled and pulled out some more before thrusting in even faster. His rough and furry hands squeezed and massaged her breasts for all they were worth. He had to admit, her breasts were furry, but they had a definite silky feel to them.

Blushing, Trisha blushed as she felt Ranma play with her breasts. "Yes... So good." She moaned out, grinding her ass against his hips, her fluids splashing out onto the floor.

Grunting a bit, Ranma purred as he continued to thoroughly fuck the Weretigress back-door. Taking his left hand, he moved it down to her slit and started rubbing her there, the rather hot wetness felt rather good too.

Yowling louder, Trisha's body trembled in pleasure. "Yessssssssss..." She hissed while wiggling her hips. "Feels SO good."

Grunting as he felt the muscles in her backdoor start quivering around his member, Ranma started to pick up his thrusting in and out of her ass while pushing his middle finger into her slit and rubbing her clit with his thumb.

Trisha growled as her whole body began trembling again. "Ah! Yes! AH! R-Ranmaaaaaa..." She mewled pathetically. "A-a-almost therrrrre..."

Ranma purred and panted a bit. Damn, he was getting close himself. Growling, his eyes seemingly glowed as he inserted two of his big, hairy fingers into her pussy and started jack hammering away at her ass with abandon. His right hand pulled, tugged and twisted at her hard right nipple as he continued to screw the Weretigress asshole.

That did it. Rowling loudly, Trisha's body shook as another orgasm swept through her body. "YESSSSSS! SO GOOD!"

Moaning as he felt her ass tighten considerably around his member, Ranma shuddered and slammed his aching cock into her ass as it twitched, enlarged and exploded, sending his thick, creamy load into her bowels.

Yowling at the top of her lungs, Trisha's body collapsed forward onto the bed completely as her strength left her.

Ranma slumped over her and purred loudly as his manhood continued to spray his load into her bowels. Damn, this girl was a ride and a half; kind of like Six, or Brianna, in that regard.

Just then, the door opened, though it sure wasn't loud, and even if it was, there was no way that Ranma could have defended himself in his precarious position.

Standing at the door in her black pants and blue shirt, Jane's right eye twitched as she came upon the scene in front of her. Far be it for her to blame the Werecat, it couldn't be his fault for getting into this situation after all. There wasn't a single time that he had gotten laid yet where he started the bout of sex. Nope, the real problem was the women that kept jumping his bones. G'nolga had jumped him that first time, followed shortly thereafter by Six, and both times, Ranma had never started it. Of course, he didn't fight very hard against it, but what could she expect? He was a guy, once they got seriously aroused, it was really hard for them to think straight, so, she couldn't really be expected to hold a grudge against him for doing what came natural, could she? Nope, the real blame lay with that gutter slut Werecat that would call herself a woman.

Trisha barely had time to blink as a fist hit her in the temple, knocking her out cold. Thankfully, the blow was only meant to knock her out, not seriously hurt her, so, she'd be alright in an hour or so.

The purple eyed woman smirked, that had felt good. She shook her head as she watched Ranma pull out of the Were Cat's ass with a loud *POP*! "Uhhh… Hungry." He said.

Jane shook her head and rolled her eyes. "By Bahamut, don't you ever get enough sex?" She said while looking at his member and comparing it to Fauntleroy's. Yep, he was definitely bigger than her husband. Hmm…

"Uh…" Ranma blinked as Jane looked at him a little weird.

 **by Philip Weigel**

Looking at him with a raised eyebrow, Jane nodded to herself. Yep, the Werecat on the ground in front of her definitely was built. Hmm…

Standing in the doorway, Sylvia blushed heavily from the sight in front of her. Her friend Trisha was laying on the table, slumped down a bit from being knocked out cold, yet the Elf could see that her pussy and asshole had been stretched by something long, wide and hard. With those thoughts, she turned her attention to the Were Smilodon and blushed even heavier than before when she saw how freaking hung he really was. From the fluids that the purple haired Elf had seen leaking out of her friend's stretched ass and cunt, Sylvia could take a guess as to how many times the Smilodon had cum. 'He, he's still hard?' She thought in amazement; astounded that he had such staying power.

Jane shook her head and smirked. She couldn't believe this guy. "You sure are a randy thing, aren't you?" She said in a bit of amusement.

Ranma blinked, wondering what that meant, before shrugging it off. Probably had something to do with the amount of sex that he had been getting. "Not my fault. Girls just keep jumping me." He said, starting to stand up a bit. He needed to get dressed. He couldn't believe that he let himself get caught like that.

Something inside of the Ex-Wyrm snapped at the moment he started to get up. She didn't know if she was going to get another chance at him, so fuck it! She wouldn't have cared if Fauntleroy was in the room at the moment; she wasn't letting this chance pass her by.

Ranma blinked as Jane put her hands on his shoulders. "Yeah?" He asked as he heard her speak his name.

"Do me." She said lustfully.

"Huh?" Surely she had to be joking; after all, she hadn't shown any interest in him at all, other than helping him with certain objectives.

Jane smirked and kissed Ranma. "Heh... Shut up and screw me." She said while pushing his body back to the floor.

Ranma nodded into the kiss. "Okay!" Hey, who was he to complain!? Sex was wonderful; there was no way that he was going to turn it down now.

Jane smiled and looked down. Smirking and reaching out with her right hand, she gripped and lightly stroked his member. She practically shivered in delight as she felt his big, furry cock pulsate in her hand, veins pulsating through it as she felt his excitement and enthusiasm for this.

Ranma smiled and purred. He had been prepared to leave after screwing the Weretigress, but hey! If Jane wanted some fun, who was he to stop her? Besides, it was better than her practically glaring at her all the time. He moaned a bit as she continued to stroke his member lightly. He shivered a bit, her hands so soft and smooth, yet strong, were working his member over tremendously. Groaning a bit, he wrapped his arms around her and started to squeeze and massage her pert ass.

Jane moaned as she felt Ranma squeeze her ass. She had to admit, he had GREAT hands with what he was doing to her. It just felt nice. Smirking, she moved her left hand to his member and stroked it with both hands.

Ranma smiled as he licked his lips. He then noticed something over Jane's shoulder. "Uh, Jane..." He really didn't know if she wanted to do him with someone watching them. He himself was a bit embarrassed about being caught with someone watching them. It probably had something to do with the fact that the first time he had gotten laid, someone had walked in on him after he had done the deed.

Jane blinked. "What?" What was wrong now? Were those blasted Edge Guard at the door or something? Just what she needed too, some sort of do-gooder or a jealous female at the door to stop her. She wasn't giving up her shot at taking a ride on the Smilodon; the rest of the world could go to hell.

"What about her?" Ranma asked as he pointed to Sylvia. The Elf was standing by the door, blushing a bit.

Jane looked back at the blushing Elf and shrugged. She didn't care if Sylvia watched. What the Elf did was her own prerogative. Turning her head back to Ranma, she smirked viciously. "Who cares? What she does is her business. You're mine." She said huskily, before snapping her fingers and willing her clothing to disappear.

Ranma blinked. "Wow. Neat trick!" He said in all seriousness. He looked Jane over. Yep. Rather nice pale skin, with a rather bushy patch of dark violet pubic hair, 'Guess she doesn't believe in shaving', Ranma thought, though, it did make her seem more erotic that way. He looked up at her breasts. Yeah, very nice, very full, and... Ranma blinked his eyes and smirked. "Hey. Your nipples are a little purple."

Jane rolled her eyes, not at all embarrassed what he said. "Yeah?" She said huskily, positioning herself over his member, since he was sitting on the ground. "What of it?" She asked him in a husky voice as she spread her legs.

Smirking, Ranma looked up at her eyes. "Nothing." He said as he leaned over to nip lightly at her right breast. "They just look cute with the slight violet hue." He said honestly, before licking her nipples with his rough, feline tongue. He purred a bit, her silky warm breast felt heavenly to him as he licked her nipple. His hands went around her waist to squeeze and caress her ass-cheeks. He found, to his delight, that her ass was pert, supple, fleshy and warm.

Jane moaned at that. Oooh... That felt good. "Uuhhh..." She didn't respond, but rather positioned herself above his member and started to slide on. "Sh... SHIT! SO Big!" She moaned as she started to slide down. Damn, he was a lot bigger than Fauntleroy was. She grunted a bit and moaned as she was having some trouble taking the head of his cock into her fold. "Fu… Fuck…" She gasped out, spreading her legs a bit wider and rubbing her slit up and down on the head of his cock, hoping to lube it up a bit to slide it.

Ranma smiled. Purring, he kissed her nipple again as he spread her ass-cheeks a bit and started rubbing her rosebud with his index finger. "Damn, you're tight." He purred out as she rubbed her slit against his cock. Growling a little, he squeezed her ass tightly and bucked his hips up, forcing the head of his member past her pussy lips and into her tight channel.

Shuddering and moaning loudly, Jane practically screamed out in mixed pleasure and pain as she felt the head of his cock push into her. "Oh… Damn…" She moaned; her legs practically parallel to the ground as she slowly slid onto his member. "Fu, fuck!" She breathed out, groaning in a bit of pain as she realized that she was sliding on a bit faster than she'd like to. She grunted, grabbing his shoulders tightly and sighing as she felt him take over and slowly lower her down on his cock.

Licking his lips, Ranma bit down onto her nipple gently. Smirking, the Werecat squeezed her butt a little more as he lowered her down. Damn, she was so tight! Grunting a bit, he slowly inserted his left index finger into her rosebud while bucking his hips upwards, trying to get further into her.

Moaning and hissing, Jane closed her eyes as that thick cock continued to slide into her. "Shit... Uhh..." She moaned out loudly, the combination of his cock ravishing her insides and his finger sliding in and out of her anus gave her the feeling of being split in twain. She just felt so full, and she loved every moment of it. "Uhh... Yes..." She whimpered out. "F... Fuck me." She moaned a bit loudly. Thrashing lightly as Ranma slowly inserted a second finger into her anus. "Uhhh…. Oh gods… Full…" She moaned, feeling her belly bulge slightly from the Smilodon's monster cock as it continued to slide into her.

"I thought I already was," Ranma teased as he used his rough feline tongue to lick Jane's nipple some more. However, after a moment, he wasn't able to get Jane further down. And he still had some length to go. Looking at her, her face pouting in bliss, he smiled; at least she seemed to be enjoying it. He looked down at her belly and blinked as he noticed a bulge there, he shrugged, not really knowing what it meant, but figuring that it was good, since the woman was thrashing and moaning in pure ecstasy. Smirking, he began to lift Jane up, so only the tip of his cock was in her folds. Winking at her, he leaned up a little and licked her neck, pulling his hands away from her anus; he squeezed her ass tightly and pulled her hips down harshly, trying to get her down further.

Jane winced and screamed out in passion. "Uhhh... Yes..." She couldn't believe it; he was actually going deeper into her than before. She idly wondered if he minded that she already orgasmed from what he was doing to her. "Oh gods, oh gods..." She moaned and whimpered, feeling like she was going to be split in half. He was just so filling to her, and what he was doing to her breasts and ass felt good too. She whimpered a bit. "Fu... Fuck... SO big... Uhhh..." She thrashed a bit and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "OH, FUCK YEAH!" She screamed, hugging him tightly as she felt that bulge in her belly go further than it had that last time. "Uhh… Oh…" She grunted and moaned passionately to him.

Grinding his cock into her, Ranma smiled. "Three more inches to go..." He teased as he then kissed her. He then pulled his head away, her lower lip between his teeth as he nibbled. He pulled it a little before letting go.

Jane shuddered and moaned an electric sensation on her lips from when he kissed her. It was so good she just couldn't help but want more. "Uhh... Good." She moaned out, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him passionately on the lips. She nearly broke the kiss and screamed in passion as he bucked his hips up a bit more.

Behind them, Sylvia was blushing terribly as she watched this whole thing. 'Holy fuck!' She thought in surprise. 'He's nearly got it all the way in!' There was no way something that size could fit into any female. It just wasn't possible. … Okay, women who were over seven feet tall could probably take it all the way in, but not someone as short as Jane, at least, that's what the Elf thought her name was, could take it all the way in. They would be ripped in half at worst, at best; they'd be stretched tremendously for the rest of their lives. After all, Jane HAD to be a human; she didn't look like any other race but a human.

If Sylvia had known that Jane was a Dragon, her line of thinking would be quite different.

Smirking at that, Ranma continued to kiss Jane, nipping on her lip quite happily. His fingers continued to tease her ass as he continued to suckle on her lower lip. He purred and bucked his hips up one last time, sighing in relief as their pelvis joints met. He was in, though for a moment, he was quite worried that he wouldn't be able to fit in completely. His tail swayed back and forth on the ground as he continued to kiss her.

Jane moaned and squeaked a little as her hips met his. 'He... Got it in?' She thought in amazement. She groaned a bit as he grinded his hips into hers. Damn was this filling her up. Shuddering a bit, she moved her legs from being practically parallel to the ground to a more sitting, but still spread, position.

Ranma smiled. "Mmm... Such a wonderful tight fit," He said. He grunted as he felt her folds tighten and spasm around his cock again. "Fuck!" He growled as she came again, her fluids drenching her thighs and his lap. After her pussy let up on its death-grip, he took his hands off of her waist, moving his tail to wrap around it instead. Smiling, both his hands went to her breasts, punching and twisting her nipples. He kissed her again, taking Jane's lower lip into his mouth once more. There was something about doing that to her that he liked.

Jane grunted and moaned. Damn, did this feel good. Of course the silky warm tail that was wrapped around her waist was nice too. It made her feel safe. Tears of passion continued to fall out of her eyes as she squeezed them closed as Ranma caressed and massaged her breasts and nipples. "Fuck... So damn good." She said breathlessly. Moving her arms from his chest up to his neck, she hugged him a bit, pulling him closer to her.

Seeing the dragon enjoy his ministrations, he smiled and kissed her again. However, it was a gently one, just his lips meshing with hers. His hands started to move in circular motions on her breasts as he was more intent to massage now. And of course, his tail helped balance her, holding her in place as he grinded his cock into Jane's tight, TIGHT inner-folds.

The Dragon shuddered, whimpered and moaned into the kiss. She loved how she felt him being gentle and kind with her, much better than she would have expected from him, not to mention that it was better than any time her husband wanted sex. "Ranma?" She whimpered, breaking the kiss. "Fu... Fuck me." She moaned out as he pinched and pulled at her breasts. She groaned a bit as she realized how full her belly was, and she hadn't even eaten anything.

Ranma nodded. "You sure you want that?" He asked, noticing the tears at the corners of her eyes for the first time. He gently kissed them away. Grinding his cock into her folds as hard as he could, Ranma's hands soon went around from her breasts to her back, massaging her there. "I'll give it to you if you want." Looking down, he could see a large bulge coming from her belly. Damn, was that his cock? He shuddered; the sight turned him on immensely, causing his cock to splash out some pre-cum into her depths, soaking her insides, causing more of her fluids to flow out of her pussy and all over him.

Jane shuddered and nodded. "Y, yes..." She moaned and whimpered out. Damn, was his pole just snacking and working her insides like nothing else, no wonder Six kept trying to get him in the sack every moment she could! Besides the fact that Six would jump at the chance if sex was brought up faster than a man could actually get aroused.

His hands expertly working Jane's back, Ranma smiled and said, "Okay." His hands moved around to cup under her armpits as he lifted Jane up slowly, so that only the tip of his manhood was still in her folds. Smiling and letting out a guttural purr as her insides spasmed around his cock a bit, Ranma leaned his head and body forward a bit so he could lick her bellybutton.

Jane shuddered and moaned loudly. "Oh gods! Oh fuck..." She whimpered out as it felt like her entire insides were being dragged with his member. Her fluids splashed and dripped all over his cock, lap, balls and onto the floor. "Fuck... So good." She moaned and whimpered out as her folds convulsed at the lack of his cat spear in her sex. She just felt so small compared to him, though she knew, intellectually, that her Dragon form was much larger. Still, the fact remained that in their current forms; she felt tiny compared to him, and was completely at his mercy. Whatever he wanted to do to her, he could do and there was no way that she could stop it.

Smiling, Ranma growled in delight as he brought the dragon down and started grinding into that wonderful pussy again. What he did next, he didn't know why he would. But it just felt right. Hugging her to him tightly, Ranma began to really grind into her folds as he reveled in the feeling of her body against him. His hands continued to feel along Jane's spine as he did so.

Jane shuddered and moaned. Wrapping her arms around his frame, she melded her body to his, completely giving herself to him. "T, take me... I'm yours." She whispered and moaned out as he bucked his hips upwards a bit, causing her to bounce up and down in his lap slightly, that monster of a manhood ravaging and slipping through her folds like nothing else could.

Something in Ranma's mind snapped at those words. Like a burning need to do... 'Something' had just been given the 'okay'. "J-Jane?" He started. "Are you sure?" He asked seriously, still holding the former Wyrm tightly to his body while thrusting his manhood in and out of her pussy.

Shuddering with that big, thick meaty appendage in her, Jane nodded. "Yes..." She moaned out, salty tears of passion and pleasure falling out of her eyes. She just felt so small, yet so secure in his embrace like this, like nothing could hurt her.

Ranma smiled warmly, a smile he rarely showed anyone since coming to this world. "Thank you," he said as he pulled her back a little so he could lean his head forward and kiss her breasts. "Thank you, thank you, thank you..."

Jane shuddered and moaned a bit louder as that member moved around in her more, as well as how he was kissing her breasts. "Ahh... Uhh... Glad you're... Uhh... Happy." She moaned and hissed a little as Ranma lifted her up a bit and slammed her down; his furry pubic bone was rubbing against her clit. She just felt so good that she was about to explode. "Uhhh..." She whimpered and moaned a bit. "So close."

Ranma purred huskily. So was he. His kissed moved up from her breast and to her right shoulder. He nuzzled, kissed, and actually began licking the area as he continued to buck and grind his over-endowed meat into the dark purple haired woman.

The woman whimpered and moaned, grinding her hips back. "Uhh..." She thrashed a bit as her pussy started convulsing. Damn and they had hardly done any serious fucking, mostly just grinding their hips together and him playing with her body. Then again, his thick, long meat was playing havoc on her nerve centers.

Purring huskily, Ranma moved his head away from her shoulder. Opening his mouth widely, Ranma then brought his fangs down quickly into Jane's shoulder, biting down. He could feel the coppery taste of her blood as he held his fangs in her, still holding her to him tightly as he really just grinded his meat without hesitation.

Jane winced and shuddered. "R... RANMA!" She cried out in sudden pain and pleasure. Shuddering, her pussy tightened around his cock immensely, coaxing it for the seed within. "Fu... FUCK!" She moaned and shuddered. Damn, she had never gotten off this hard before.

Growling in passion, Ranma bit his fangs down harder, his fingers practically digging into Jane's back as he came. The convulsions of her pussy finally got to him causing him to blow load after load of his thick, filling and creamy Smilodon seed into the ex-Wyrm's womb.

Jane gritted her teeth together. "Fu, fuck..." She gasped out. Damn, that was really feeling different, the biting that was, she had never known it to bring a person pleasure before. She grunted a bit as she felt her already full channel and womb become over-stuffed by his thick, creamy Smilodon cream. "Uhh..." She whimpered out as her belly started to distend a bit from all the fluid in it as Ranma continued to spray up a storm of his semen into her.

Her body convulsed as she continued to orgasm heavily, her fluid mixed with his dripped and splashed onto the floor, coating her thighs, pussy and part of her ass as it coated his furry balls and ass.

After some time, Ranma just held Jane. Pulling his mouth back from her shoulder, he began to gently lick it. "So sorry..." He apologized as he continued to hold the Dragon tenderly, cuddling with her while licking the wound.

Jane shuddered and moaned a bit. "Wha? Why?" She wondered, leaning her head forward to rest on his chest. She didn't feel mad or upset about it, more curious than anything else.

Sighing, Ranma nuzzled her shoulder. "I... Don't know why... It just felt right..." He gave her shoulder another lick. "I'm sorry." He couldn't believe that he bit her like that. What the hell was wrong with him?

She shuddered and nodded. "O... Okay." She whimpered out, sighing as he continued to hold her and lick her shoulder, showing how sorry he was. "Ranma?"

"Yes?" Ranma asked as he continued to massage her back with his hands while licking her wound with his tongue.

Jane smiled and nuzzled her head into his broad, furry chest. "Next time we do this... Don't bite me." She said; sighing as she felt him hug her a bit tighter.

Ranma nodded his head. "I'll try not to!" After all, she was one of his friends on this world. He'd figure out what was wrong with him later, right now, he was just happy and content to hold her.

Jane smiled and nodded; content to cuddle him for now. Yes, she knew that they would have to take off soon. They'd have to do something about the Elf and the Weretigress, but that could come later.

Twitching as she watched all of this, the purple haired Elf, Sylvia, turned and walked out of the room, both to give the lovers some privacy, but also to get some personal relief.

 **by Philip Weigel**

The blue Undead Knight, Rook looked at his shorter traveling companion. "Why did you stop us?" He had to wonder just why G'nolga, of all people, chose to stop him and Hanza from doing what they wanted back in Seer's Hamlet.

The brown-haired, four-foot-ten Dwarf rolled her eyes. "I already gave you my reasons, Rook." Honestly, the guy was SUCH an idiot that it wasn't funny. Oh well, at least he was an idiot that knew how to fight and how to work the system.

Behind them, Hanza, dressed in her warrior's dress, and her sword strapped on her back, frowned a bit as she recalled what happened back at Seer's Hamlet.

(Flashback…)

G'nolga smirked as she kicked the Weretiger one last time. Turning her head and glancing at her two allies, she blinked when she saw that they had gotten done with kicking the small Jagwere and now had their swords pointed down towards the downed girl, whose head was in a pool of mixed blood and saliva; a testament to the amount of pain that those two had caused her. Hanza hadn't gotten off scot-free though; the Merc sported some nasty bruises on the side of her face and several cuts on her side. Considering that the swords were Dwarven Steel, the Jagwere probably wasn't going to survive, since Dwarven Steel interfered with magical healing. Before, G'nolga wouldn't have cared and just let them finish her off. But now... "You know, I wouldn't do that if I were you." She spoke up, slinging her weapon over her shoulder.

Rook looked at her, his glowing red eyes practically glaring into her own. "Give us some good reasons not to." He said, raising his weapon up a little more in preparation for the strike.

"Yeah!" Hanza added as she held up her buster sword over Sheila's back, all she needed was a twinge of movement from the bitch who caused her so much trouble and she'd run the Werecat through.

G'nolga rolled her eyes at the two. "Do you honestly think that cat will like it if you killed when you didn't have to?"

Rook snorted, he didn't care. "I think he's rubbing off on you."

G'nolga shrugged, it may have been true, but she wasn't sure. "Well, whatever, but I'd rather not give those who are after us any more incentive to come after us." After all, that debacle at the Tournament of Arms had taught her a few things.

Hanza blinked at that. "Huh?" What the hell did the Dwarf mean? It wasn't like they'd be in any worse trouble for doing this.

G'nolga held up her hand and started ticking off the point, holding up one finger, she spoke, "First off, we don't need the people already out for us to come after us even harder than they are."

"Like that will happen." Rook snorted at the much smaller woman. He had better things to do than waste his time talking to the Dwarf. He was going to finish this Werecat off, then go into the prison and free the prisoners.

Unseen to all, Sheila rolled her head to the side, showing her black and purple face that was covered in blood; cracking an eye open, she cringed when she saw the sharp, pointed sword just above her face. Even if she healed up, there was no way that she'd be able to fight back against them.

"Unlike you, Rook, I personally have learned a few things from that debacle of over a year ago." G'nolga shook her head and snorted. "Besides, we don't need to make more enemies than we already have. And after this, you can imagine the bounty on all of our heads will go sky-high."

The two stopped and blinked at that. Hanza looked at her seriously. "What do you mean?" Hanza had been in jail before, it wasn't so bad. But since she had never intended to conquer, rule, or destroy Jade, her prison sentence had been rather light. Compared to Tirant and Array's prison sentences that is.

Holding up a second finger, G'nolga explained, "Well, we're doing a raid on this Hamlet to release criminals, there's a Dragon covering us, an Ex-Priestess who's high on the list of wanted criminals as well as the fact that we're working with the Were Smilodon." Giving the two a flat stare, she asked plainly, "Do you honestly think that killing her is a good idea?"

Hanza grumbled but nodded. The Armored Undead Knight on the other hand snorted. "So what? I can just bring her back as an Undead anyway." Why the hell was it so important to keep this little bitch alive? She froze him awhile back, which allowed that freaking Lycanthropic to shatter him while he was entombed in ice.

Hearing those words, Sheila cringed more. She didn't want to die, but if that Undead Knight got his way, she would be dead.

"Unfortunately, G'nolga's right, Rook. If we kill this bitch, and if we later get caught, we'll be put out of action permanently." Hanza said with some reluctance. As much as she wanted to, she didn't see any reason to kill the bitch as she was right now.

Rook grumbled but conceded the point. The last thing they all needed was goody-two-shoes from all over converging on them. Snorting, he kicked the small Jagwere in the ribs a few times, stopping only after he felt them break. Nodding in satisfaction, he stepped over the bleeding and broken Jagwere and made his way towards the Prison, Hanza walking beside him.

Smirking, G'nolga turned and idly kicked the Weretiger in the head. "Come on, let's finish this mission." She said as she caught up to them.

The other two nodded and the three entered the building, leaving behind two badly injured Werecats laying in their own pools of blood.

Grumble, bald Dwarf with light brown skin, sat in his jail cell, frowning as he looked at the walls. "If only I have my war-hammer! I smash my way out!" He said, looking over his brown prison uniform in disgust. "This no way to treat a warrior!"

"Ahhh… Stuff, it, Big Nose!" One of the inmates shouted to him.

Grumble, well, grumbled at that. Just because he had a rather large nose with an anchor tattoo on it, didn't mean that the other prisoners had to give him that nickname. "Bah! Me no see what so wrong with my nose! Just because it bigger than your pencil arms no mean I have big nose!" He yelled while raising a meaty fist threateningly at the people across the hall. Though, it did look rather funny to see someone who's forearm was much larger than his biceps trying to threaten someone.

"Well, well, Grumble, it's been awhile." Came a female voice from the side.

"Eh?" The Dwarf turned and blinked. "Champion G'nolga?" He asked in amazement. Had she come to rescue him? But why would she waste her time with a fighter like him?

G'nolga smirked. "Listen, Grumble. Don't have much time. I'm just here to release an old sparring partner from prison." She then blinked and looked at him. "Um, just WHAT did you do to get put in jail THIS time?" It was one of the reasons he never got to enter any of the tournaments, he spent about as much time in prison as he did training.

The male Dwarf frowned. "Grumble was in bar when bar fight start. Knock out most of the fighters. Stupid Edge Guard come in and knock me out. Me lose hammer and clothing. If me have hammer, me get out with ease!" He said, clenching his fists together tightly.

G'nolga rolled her eyes. The other reason that the guy never took part in any tournaments was because he was a total moron. "Whatever." She said, before turning to the door and unlocking it, letting her fellow Dwarf out.

"Eh? Why for G'nolga free me?" He looked at her stupidly. Not too hard, considering that his idea of great planning was taking his hammer and smashing the problem.

G'nolga rolled her eyes. "Just helping an old sparring partner, like I said." She then grinned a bit. "But!" She held up a finger. "If anyone asks who let you out, you say the rather nice Were Smilodon did it." She smirked, knowing that Grumble was a bit of an idiot, but he always repaid his debts.

"Eh? You mean Werecat boogey-man get you to save me?" Grumble nodded. "Okay. Me spread word on how Werecat boogey-man save me and others." He said as he ran off.

Blinking, G'nolga wondered if it was a good thing, or a bad thing that all the criminals that were locked up here were suddenly chanting "Smilodon, Smilodon". Hmm… G'nolga shrugged. At least Ranma wouldn't have to worry about criminals coming after him for the bounty on his head.

(End Flashback…)

Hanza shook her head. "So… Where are the Dragons, Ranma and Tanya?" She asked, wondering where their companions were. Not that she was really worried about them, just more idle curiosity than anything else.

The two shook their heads. Rook was about to say something, when a flapping and gliding sound came from overhead. Looking up, Rook rolled his eyes. "Well, there's Six." He said, pointing up as an orange scaled Dragon swooped down and landed nearby. "And Tanya as well." He said as he noticed the small Kryn woman hopping off of Six's back.

G'nolga shook her head. "Well, that's our ride back. Let's get over there." She said, already taking off for the Dragon.

Rook and Hanza shrugged, following her.

On Six's back, Tanya grumbled a bit. Just where WAS that idiot? Dammit! What if he was hurt or something? She hadn't heard much fighting lately, and was getting just a tad bit worried. Not that she'd actually say that to someone.

Six sighed a bit as she saw that Ranma wasn't with G'nolga and the others either. Dammit! She had been searching for him or Jane shortly after the fighting ended; which was how she found Tanya, who was also looking for Ranma. 'Darn it! Where are you, Ranma?' She thought in despair.

G'nolga frowned as Tanya told her what the problem was. Okay, so the cat was missing, so was Jane. But then again… "We really don't need to worry about them right now. We know that they can handle themselves. Let's just get back to Death's Domain and rest up." Left unsaid was the fact that bounty hunters would soon be after them if they didn't get the hell out of there.

Six and Tanya both sighed and nodded. As soon as everyone jumped on the Dragon's back, Six flapped her wings twice and took off into the air, heading north, straight for Rook's Castle.

Six mentally promised herself that if Rook felt her up any time in the near future, she was tossing him off of her back next time she gave him a lift.

 **by Sect**

Many talented people exist within the Amazon tribes of China, and the elder known as Wui Sqe was no exception. Of course, she looked like a shriveled monkey as do the other elders, but enemies of the Amazons could testify that they were more powerful they seemed.

However, it wasn't Wui Sqe's admittedly skillful combat technique that was her strong point, rather her unflagging judgement. Though she was just one of several ancient women who ran the tribe, and not even the most powerful, her keen ability to judge people and situations made her the one that everyone went to in crises. This ability also made her well suited for the distribution of magical items, as she could be counted on to let the items go only in dire emergencies.

Wui Sqe nodded to herself as she watched her young apprentice diligently catalogue the newest artifacts that had just been transported to the village. Ever since the fall of Saffron, the king of the Phoenix Tribe, the Amazons and the Musk had been probing their outposts, though carefully. Oh, sure, Elder of the Warriors, Ku Lohn, herself had confirmed Saffron's true death, but it was known that in the unlikely event that the Phoenix had been extinguished forever, a new one would emerge, usually the strongest Pheonix person at the time. Everybody knew that this meant Kiima, and since they had not seen her for nearly ten months, the same rate of time that Saffron had been dead, the Amazons and the Musk knew that something big was happening, thus they should not spread their forces too thinly.

However, both tribes figured that now was a good time to get a little booty. Just this past month, the Amazons had recovered twenty artifacts of decent power!

The crone's ki senses told her of Ku Lohn's arrival before the door did. "What do you need?" she asked bluntly, as how she always did. She wasn't one for cajoling or tomfoolery.

Wui Sqe and her apprentice, young Fu Baa, quickly learned that, in this case, neither was the warrior elder. "I must have a teleportation scroll," she stated, causing the young girl to gasp.

It merely rose Wui Sqe's eyebrow a centimeter. "To Jade," she "asked", knowing that traveling to Jade was the only accepted purpose that the Council had for using the rare one use Gate Scrolls. "Tell me in five words why I should, without telling the council beforehand."

Her friend only needed four.

Ignoring Fu Baa's shocked expression, the elder hopped into the back of the building that they housed the artifacts, knowing instantly that the warrior spoke the truth. Minutes later, she returned. She tossed a rolled up scroll to Ku Lohn, then, to Ku Lohn's surprise, she added two more parcels, both which were bound in cloth, causing the old woman to juggle the three items as well as several slim books she was already carrying with her.

"A dimensional beacon," she explained, "in the case that the entire tribe is needed. Also, a Divine Ki Amplifier, which you know what it's used for. If you can, don't break it. Better yet, don't use it." Her darker tone, as well as the simple fact that she even let these artifacts go out of the village, reflected how seriously she was taking the woman's words.

Ku Lohn, as well as the apprentice, were both surprised. Thankfully, the crone adjusted her items into her clothing in the same fashion as did a certain visually afflicted boy did, and left the two.

Before Fu Baa could raise questions to her mentor, Wui Sqe held up a shriveled hand. "Do not say a word of this to anyone. I shall inform the council," she commanded. The girl, knowing that the elder knew what was best, agreed silently, and hoped for the departing warrior.

 **by Philip Weigel**

Ranma smiled as he hugged Jane and looked down her sweaty back. "You know..." He said; smiling as Jane moved her head on his chest a bit. "You got a great ass, Jane." Ranma grinned as he looked at her ass.

Jane's eye twitched a little. However, even as she tilted her head up to look at the Smilodon she favored him with a smile. "Thanks." The guy was too nice. She wiggled her hips forward and back a bit, causing her to moan as she felt his long, meaty appendage move a bit inside her.

Ranma nodded and grunted a bit. Smiling, Ranma moved his hands down her back to grab and squeeze her sweaty and supple ass a bit.

Jane blushed a little, a slight dark rosy hue showing up on her usually pale cheeks.

Ranma smiled and squeezed her ass a bit more. "Heh... You're so soft." He commented. He just couldn't get enough of her ass; it was like silk, only warm and springy.

Jane blushed a little more. "I think you're hitting on me." Though, she sure didn't mind it. There hadn't been too many people who did that to her in her life. Even Fauntleroy never bothered to, as it was below a Dragon to hit on a pseudo-Dragon, no matter how good they looked.

Ranma blinked. He was? "Hitting on you? But I'm just grabbing your butt and complimenting you." He said honestly. Hitting on someone? That sounded like something you did in a fight, not what you did when you complimented them and touched them in ways that were pleasurable.

Rolling her eyes, Jane told him, "It's an expression. You're not physically hitting me. Just complimenting me." She smirked a bit, shuddering as Ranma caressed her ass a bit more. Damn, he was good with his rough hands. Next time she saw Six, she was going to compare notes. While Jane was a little taller than Six, and a little bustier in some areas, she never went to Fauntleroy for as much sex as Six did, which was why her pussy was a bit tighter around Ranma's freaking huge shaft.

"Oh." Ranma said, feeling a bit stupid. "I guess it's a good thing then?" He asked and squeezed her ass a bit more. Damn, was she soft there, kind of like Six in that regard.

Blushing still, the usually pale Jane was looking a bit more 'human'. "Yes, it's a good thing," She said pressing her ass back against his hand. God, there was something about Ranma giving her his attention that she so reveled in. It probably had to do with the fact that she had never really received any attention like this before. Well, there was Six, and Fauntleroy did, on occasion, treat her better than most Dragons would to their pseudo-Dragon wives.

Smiling, Ranma enveloped Jane in a tight, warm embrace, his large arms wrapping around her frame as he hugged her. He couldn't help but nuzzle his cheek against hers, just loving the feel of her face, like her ass, it was soft as silk, yet none of that was from fat of any type.

Jane cooed a little happily. "R-Ranmaaa..." She moaned playfully. "We really should get going." While she would be happy to get her brains banged out by such a stud, she knew that the longer they stayed there, the better the chances of someone finding them that they didn't want to was.

Ranma sighed a bit, but held her. "Just... Just let me hold you for a bit?" He asked while purring, his tail wagging back and forth. "You're just so soft. When we head out, we gotta go back ta Rook's, and gotta watch out for bounty-hunters and everything. Can't we just enjoy this for now?" He asked, kissing her left cheek lightly. He really just wanted to enjoy the feel of her body against his as he held and coupled with her.

Nodding her head, Jane was trying to appear serious, yet she couldn't keep the smile off of her face. "I guess we can..." She said, trying to sound reluctant. Internally, this was the BEST she had felt, EVER! Stupid Dragon laws. Hmm… Maybe she should look into them in the near future.

Ranma purred like a content kitten. Smiling, he couldn't help but rock his body back and forth a bit as his tail slowly swayed back and forth. "Thank you." He whispered. Closing his eyes for a moment, Ranma kissed her neck. "How's your left shoulder?" He asked, that being the one that he had bitten. He still felt bad about doing that to her.

Bringing her hand up to her left shoulder where Ranma had bitten her, Jane winced a little. "Still tender... But at least it's not bleeding now." At least her Draconic healing should be able to reduce the majority of the cut into her flesh down to only some small rings where the edges of his teeth were.

Ranma nodded. "Sorry for that." He said, kissing and nibbling on her neck a bit.

Jane smiled a little. "Careful with those teeth, buster." She didn't want a repeat of what happened a moment ago after all. Hmm… Maybe she should get him a muzzle so that he didn't bite her during sex? It was something to think about.

Ranma nodded. "Right." He said seriously; his hands massaging her back lightly as he rocked his body back and forth lightly.

Closing her eyes slowly, Jane cooed happily as she felt Ranma's hands on her shoulders. "Yes... Feels nice..." She moaned as that freaking large shaft pressed against her walls even more, snaking all around in her channel and womb.

Ranma smiled. He didn't know if he'd get another chance at this, and since he was still turned on... Grinning suddenly, Ranma bucked his hips up a bit, creating a bit of a sloshing sound as Jane slipped up and down his mighty pole a little bit before sliding back down, her ass jiggling a bit from the motion.

"AH!" Jane gasped, her eyes snapping wide open. Looking up at Ranma, the Dragon smirked. "Don't you get enough, you bad boy?" Though internally, she wouldn't mind going another round with this stud.

Ranma shrugged a bit. "Heh... Kind of hard to when there's someone like you in my lap." He grinned, showing off all his fangs. Leaning in a bit, he whispered to her. "Well... Don't you like it?" He asked, before bucking his hips up again, causing Jane to bounce in his lap a bit more.

Cooing gently, Jane nodded her head. "Yeah... VERY nice..." She nuzzled his chest back a little. "Still too dangerous to hang around though..." Jane then smirked a little. "I promise you I'll give you a special helping at the castle when we get back." Hey, why should Six and G'nolga get all the fun? This guy was treating her like a real woman, a hell of a lot better than her "husband" ever did. Why shouldn't she enjoy his ministrations? It was better than that rough sex that Fauntleroy kept forcing her and Six to go through for so long. Sure, she'd be sore from what she was doing with him, but she could handle it. At least, she hoped she could handle it.

Ranma smiled, a little disappointed that she wouldn't get him off, damn, and he was getting horny again too. "Okay..." He said, smiling a bit. "But how about a quickie right now?" He grinned and bucked his hips up again; causing the Ex-Wyrm to slide up and down his pole some more.

"F-fuck..." Jane hissed in pleasure. Smiling a bit, she winked at Ranma. "Sure! What the hell! Fuck me! Fuck me fast and good!"

Ranma grinned and squeezed her ass some more. "Soft." He purred out, before bucking his hips upwards, and pulling Jane up his impressive length until his was mostly out of her. Smirking a bit, he moved his hands so that he was grasping her thighs, before actually twisting her around, so that her back was to his front. Then, he let his hands off of her ass and thighs, groaning loudly as she slid down his pole quickly. "Uhhhh... So wet and tight."

Arching her head back, Jane gasped as she felt that thick piece of Werecat cock twist around inside of her like a corkscrew and then plunge into her very being. "F-FUCK!" She gasped. There was something so good about his piece, she absolutely loved it. She shuddered and thrashed as Ranma reached up to her breasts, squeezing and caressing them.

Purring more, Ranma covered her breasts with his big, furry hand, testing and weighing them in his hands. True, hers weren't as big as Brianna's were, but they fit in his hands just perfectly. His tail wagging behind him some more, Ranma squeezed her breasts a bit tightly, and was rewarded with a moan of pleasure.

Moaning lowly, Jane placed her hands over Ranma's to help guide his motions over her breasts. "You're so good to me." She whimpered out a bit huskily, before turning and kissing his jaw lightly. God, how she loved his long pole in her and his hands working her breasts over, moaning a bit, she moved her hands from her breasts and wrapped them around his neck in a reverse-embrace.

Purring even louder, Ranma bucked his hips up and moaned as Jane slid up and down his pole some more. He just loved how she was able to take him all the way into her, and he was a little surprised by it. 'Must be a Dragon thing.' He thought to himself, because there was no way any female, the same size as Jane or Six could actually take his member into them totally when he was in his current form. Otherwise, a lot of painful things would happen and he didn't even want to think of it.

Jane shuddered, her arms losing strength as the Were Smilodon continued to fuck her senseless. "Y, yes…" She hissed out, moaning passionately as she bounced helplessly on his shaft.

Growling at his rising need, Ranma grabbed her legs and lifted her up his member again before letting go, moaning as she slid down his shaft with a loud slurping sound as her pussy suctioned off his member. "Shit... So good." He moaned, bucking his hips upwards when her hips met his.

Gritting her teeth, Jane pressed her back against Ranma's chest. "Sh-SHIT! It's so good..." She moaned tightly, trying to grind her ass back against Ranma's hips.

Grunting a bit, Ranma moved to his hands and knees, incidentally, forcing Jane to her hands and knees as well. "Uhh... Gunna... Yeah." He moaned and leaned back. Grabbing her hips, Ranma pulled back a ways, before thrusting forward hard. "So heavenly." He purred out as he thrusted in and out of her pussy a bit harder and faster each time.

Jane moaned louder and louder, trying to thrust her hips back against the Smilodon who held her so lovingly. "Oh yes... Ranmaaaa... So good..." She moaned as she felt his shaft slide in and out of her pussy. She grunted a bit, damn, did that feel good! She whimpered as she felt his pre-cum start to splash out inside of her. "Fu… Fuck… Do me!" She gasped and moaned out as the bulge in her belly expanded and contracted as he slid his shaft in and out of her.

Ranma smiled, his tail swaying even more as he continued to thrust in and out of that divine Dragon's pussy. "Purr... Sure thing, Jane." He moaned to her, thrusting in and out of her a little bit faster than he had before. He grinned as he felt her ass jiggle against his hips with each and every thrust in and out of her.

Gasping to get quick intakes of short breaths, Jane moaned happily. "Yessss..." She hissed. "So good... Fuck me... Fuck me harder..." She growled, grinding her ass into his hips every time he slammed into her.

Growling, that's just what Ranma did. Leaning forward a bit and placing his hands over her shoulders, and onto the floor on either side of Jane's head, Ranma picked up his pace, pounding away much harder and faster than he had been just a few moments previous. He just couldn't get enough of the Dragon's pussy. It felt heavenly to him.

Her eyes widening from the rather intense pleasurable sensations, the Dragon just moaned louder and louder as she felt that meat totally plunder her pussy and insides. "F-f-f-FUCK!" Jane shouted loudly. "Damn it, Ranma! So good to me!" She groaned, feeling her entire insides being dragged out by that one-eyed anaconda as it slid in and out of her.

Purring, Ranma leaned his head down, and in an incredibly animalistic gesture, he moved her hair aside and licked her neck while thrusting in and out of her divine pussy lips. Letting out a guttural purr, Ranma nuzzled her neck, occasionally licking it. If anyone was watching him at that moment, they would probably say he looked just like a cat that was screwing his mate, especially as his tail wagged back and forth happily.

Jane's eyes widened, recognizing the feel of the gestures all too well. "Don't you dare, buster," She said warningly, yet there was still a playful tone to her voice. She whimpered a bit as Ranma picked up the pace with his thrusting. Damn and the purple eyed woman thought she was full when he had banged her before. Screaming out in pleasure, Jane thrashed under him as he continued to hump her fast and hard.

Unnoticed to the two, Trisha, the almost forgotten Weretigress, rolled over to the side a bit and slipped off the bed, falling to the floor with a small thud. The Werecat moaned in protest lightly, before settling down.

Ranma continued to purr and lick the purple haired Dragon in human form. If he was in his right state of mind, he might be wondering what he was doing, but that was neither here, nor now. Purring a bit louder, Ranma gave an extra-hard thrust into her pussy while nuzzling and licking her neck.

Jane just moaned happily at all the sensations and prayed to any gods and goddesses she could think of that this Werecat wouldn't bite her shoulder again. It did hurt quite a bit, but for some reason, the pain seemed to only last a moment, quite a bit shorter than what she thought it would last, especially with how long he held his fangs there.

Nuzzling her neck a bit more, Ranma licked it a bit, before stopping. Moving his head to her left shoulder, he licked her there, purring and mewling a bit as he put more speed and strength into his thrusts, trying to get them both off as he felt his loins start to tighten up again.

And indeed, Ranma was succeeding in that regard. Jane trembled as a rather pleasurable shiver went up her spine. "Ah, fuck... A-almost therrrre..." She growled lustfully. Jane could feel her pussy quiver and massage his dick as it continued to slide in and out of her. "F, FUCK!" She cried out breathlessly. "So filling." She whimpered out, feeling like she was going to explode.

Growling a bit, Ranma mewled a bit and pushed her shoulders down and pounded away with abandon. "Puuurrr... So close." He moaned out, his cock getting squeezed and suctioned off as he sheathed it in and out of her pussy, wet and loud slurping sounds were coming from their privates as he continued to pound away at her. "J, Jane… Almost…"

"Yesss... J-just a little more..." Jane groaned, feeling a knot of tension really starting to build up in her stomach. She could feel she was close. Her pussy was starting to overflow as her inner walls quivered and tightened with each moment. "Uhhh…. Oh gods…" She moaned out, her pussy clenching down on his rod tightly as she milked him for his seed.

Growling a bit, Ranma shuddered and moaned out Jane's name as his member stiffened inside of her. Jerking and twitching, he shot wad after wad of his Smilodon semen into her womb. Groaning, the Were Smilodon let out a far too animalist roar, one which shook the cabinets in its intensity.

Feeling that seed fill her insides once more, Jane moaned loudly, her pussy just quivering around that thick meat like there was no tomorrow.

Shuddering, Ranma purred, his tail wagging back and forth happily as he cuddled his body close to her. "J, JANE!" He moaned and purred out, shuddering as he continued to cum in her.

Jane just moaned happily. Yeah, she could really get used to this feeling. What was it again? Oh yeah, content and happiness.

Purring, and in an instinctive move, the Were Smilodon nuzzled her neck and licked her there some more. He just couldn't get over the feelings that this woman caused in him as he continued to spray his spunk into her pussy, channel and womb, causing her belly to distend.

Moaning a bit more, Jane managed to open one eye. Calming down enough to smirk, she teasingly asked, "Damn, what are you, a fire hose?" She asked, smirking playfully at him.

Ranma blushed, thankfully his fur covered it. "Um... Eh heh heh... Must be something in the area." He grinned. "Cuz I don't think I could cum like this for just anyone." 'Yeah,' Ranma reminded himself. 'Just Six, G'nolga and Brianna, and now Jane. Oh well, they seem to like me.'

Jane blushed quite a bit at the compliment. Smirking, she nuzzled him a little. "Flatterer." She really could get used to his compliments of her.

He smiled and nuzzled back. "It's the truth." He said smiling. After all, he sucked at lying. He probably was going to suck at lying until his dying day, who knew?

"Yeah, yeah..." Jane teased, turning her head to kiss Ranma on the nose.

Ranma smiled. "You like it." He said, feeling himself soften inside of her. About damn time too. He knew that they needed to get going, and he probably wasn't going to be able to do that unless he was sated.

Jane smiled. "Yeah..." Though, she was a little disappointed that he was softening. Oh well, she'd get her fill of him later at Rook's. … Possibly.

Ranma purred and cuddled her, just content to be with her for now. "We have to leave soon." He said, seriously. "But I wanna stay like this for a bit." He said seriously.

Nodding her head, Jane smiled. "Alleluia, there IS something of a romantic to you," She teased. "And here I thought you were the second coming of Tirga." Even she had heard about that Weretiger and his romantic problems. The guy had hit on her around five years ago, trying to get her into the sack. Of course, she turned him down, thinking that since he was a Werecat, he was below her notice as a "Dragon".

Ranma blinked. "You know... I'm beginning to not like this Tirga guy." He said honestly. "What's he do? Fuck the girls then leave them?" He asked, cuddling her body some more.

Jane nodded. "That's his MO all right." She had seen it happen before too.

Ranma shook his head. "Well... I ain't leavin' ya... Less I have'ta." He said honestly. He could have stayed on Earth there, but he chose to come back to Jade with Tanya, and he had even brought Brianna along. Of course, Brianna was someone he could use to get back at the Armsmaster.

Jane smiled. That was something off of her chest. Hmm… She'd REALLY have to look into the Dragon laws sometime in the future. Oh well, she was just content to enjoy the moment as it was.

On the other end of the clinic, Sylvia, bare naked and on the floor with three fingers from her left hand shoved up her cunt while her right hand was massaging her breasts, shuddered as she heard what those two were doing in there. "Oi vey! What the hell are they doing in there? Having an orgy?" She asked no one in particular. She really had to wonder about those Werecats, the really were something else at times.

 **by Philip Weigel**

"What the hell?!" Rook asked no one in particular as he and the goonies others arrived back at his castle. All around the courtyard, many Deadian bodies were scattered about, some of them broken up and trying to pull themselves back together.

Behind the Undead Knight, the brown-haired Dwarf raised an eyebrow. Smirking slightly, though she was just as confused as to what happened, she couldn't help but make a snide comment. "Did some mage come through and do this?" Though that made no sense at all. No mage would even bother coming up here by themselves. She doubted that even the Arch Mages would try and take on this many Deadians by themselves. They'd just burn themselves out trying to get to the castle.

One of the Deadians did speak up after realizing that its boss was there. "Hey, boss… A little tip. Don't try to steal clothing off of small Were Cheetahs with a lot of magical power. They tend to blow shit up." The Deadian then collapsed to the ground, seemingly groaning.

Tanya frowned hearing that. Ignoring the fact that there were many Undead perverts in her way, the small black and white Kryn ran towards the castle. "Figures." She muttered to herself. That little bitch that the idiot brought with him was causing problems and had probably fled by now. Smacking away the stupid bones that tried to goose her in various places, she stormed into the castle.

"So… Should we follow her?" The dusky skinned Dragon asked her companions. She blinked as the brown haired mercenary shrugged and followed the black and white cat woman into the castle, with G'nolga and Rook following her. "Hey!" She whined, before running after them. It wasn't fair! Why'd they always have to leave her behind? The brown haired Dragon in human form blinked as she saw the other four were stopped in front of a door and staring at something in amazement. "What is it?! Let me see!" She bounced behind them, trying to see what the other three were looking at. Stepping behind G'nolga, the shortest in the group, she gawked and blinked as she saw that short Werecheetah sitting at a small table, three Deadians around her, on the table were round objects and cards in their hands.

Looking up, the small Werecheetah smirked and waved her hand. "Hey! We're playing poker." She smirked at their dumbfounded looks. "I promised them if they could beat me five times in a row, they could get my clothes off." She giggled as the other women goggled at her. "They only won twice in a row. Besides, I got tired of blowing them up every time they tried to steal my clothing." Not that she had any intentions of actually letting them take her clothing, even if they did win. Brianna just got tired of blasting the stupid Undeads for trying to steal her clothing all the time.

Hanza stared in disbelief. "Why would you even agree to that?" Maybe she should have agreed to this a long time ago? Then she thought about it and sweated. The dammed Deadians would probably ask for more than her clothing, and knowing that bastard, Rook, he'd make her follow up on her deal, just to see her breasts. 'Stupid pervert.' She thought to herself.

The Undead Knight just stared at the small Werecheetah in disbelief. That Werecat sure knew how to pick 'em. "Okay, move over! Deal me in!" He said, shoving one of the Skeletons out of the way.

Brianna sweat-dropped as Rook sat in front of her, why did she suddenly get a premonition of doom? "Say, where's that Were Smilodon?" She remembered that he said he'd be back. Thinking back, the mini-Werecheetah blinked. He hadn't said just when he'd be back; just that he would be back. Seeing at the eager look in the Undead Knight's eyes, she could only think of one thing, 'I am SO boned.'

Sitting inside a small clinic in Trine, err, Trinc, the dark-skinned War Mage woke up with a groan. "What the hell?" The muscular woman groaned. Her face felt as though her first teacher had slammed her with ground-based spells all day long. Sitting up, and rubbing her forehead, the Weapons Master groaned, her eyes winced together tightly. "What in the nine Hells happened?"

"You're awake?!" Came a bubbly and surprised voice from the side. Cracking an eye open, Karia groaned as she saw that overly bouncy, busty, bubbly, blonde bimbo of a Weapons Master, Lily. "The healer said you shouldn't be up for the next week!" Heck, she knew that she'd be out from an attack as brutal as Karia went through for a month.

The black haired War Mage smirked. She was a lot tougher than most people though. She then groaned, smirking freaking hurt! "What in the nine Hells happened?" As much as she didn't like the Amazon, perhaps she could give some insight as to what the hell happened to her.

Lily looked at her and shook her head. "You don't remember?" She said seriously, looking at the bruised fighter through her long, blonde locks. When the other Weapons Master shook her head, Lily sighed. "Big Werecat?"

Karia's eyes widened at hearing that. "The Smilodon!" She hissed, only to groan and flop back onto the bed. How in Jade could she have forgotten about the fight? "How long have I been out?" She felt like shit, to put it mildly. Her whole body hurt, her muscles were sore, and she had a dammed pounding headache.

"About a week." Was Lily's casual response.

"A week?!" Karia hissed, sitting up quickly…

…Only to groan and flop back onto the bed. "Damned Demon Werecat." She groaned. "Anything happen while I was out?"

Lily bit her lip. She wasn't sure if she should tell the other Weapons Master about what happened. In the end, she decided against it. "Nothing much." She wasn't even sure if that rumor she had heard was true yet or not. 'But if it is…' The blonde Weapon Master let the thought drop off. She didn't even want to think about it. "He's beaten four of us." True, she hadn't been beaten, but she knew that he could have beaten her easily. Taking down both Brunhilda Brigand and Karia fairly quickly left her with no illusions about her chances in a one-on-one fight against the beast.

Karia groaned at hearing that. "Dammit!" Even if she got healed up and could get back on her feet in a matter of days, that blasted Demon Werecat had at least a week of training and fighting up on her. "What about Mumsey?"

Lily winced visibly. "She's hurt, badly. If she doesn't retire for good this time, she may not be able to do anything normally ever again." This wasn't good. Not by a long shot. Even if all she wanted to do was breed out his Werecheetah genes, that Dragon had made it pretty clear that she wasn't welcome around the Were Smilodon.

 **by Philip Weigel**

Meanwhile, in Durpan, a meeting of extreme importance was going on late at night.

"So, have any threes?"

"Go fish, Brit."

"I wish there was a fishing hole around here." Said Werecheetah grumbled as she grabbed a card from the pile. She frowned as she pulled a six. "Darn."

Nodoka sighed as she looked at her cards. She hated playing card games, she almost always lost. She looked up as Julia walked into the room. "Oh, hello."

The Armsmaster rubbed her eyes. "Couldn't sleep. All these problems going on at once." She didn't really think it was necessary to tell them everything. "The council's still being annoying, but I just hope nothing major happens within the next few days." She sighed and sat down across from Nodoka. She didn't have to guess why Nodoka was up, same with Britanny. Gina was probably still up because her sister wouldn't let her sleep.

"That's probably hoping for too much." Nodoka muttered miserably. Her son wasn't one to stand around when he could do something to possibly get some peace and quiet, well, except when it would come to commitment, then he'd be a stuttering idiot, not that Nodoka really thought about that.

Gina sighed, yawning tiredly. "Sis, I know you're worried about this guy, and I can understand why Nodoka is, but why'd you have to wake me up?"

Britanny gave her sister a "are you an idiot?" look. "Because Go Fish isn't any fun with just two people." She said as if it was obvious.

Gina sweat-dropped, nearly dropping her cards at that response, her sweat-drop increased in size as her mother and Nodoka both giggled at them. Even with such serious problems going on, her sister could be selfish. 'Well, guess she doesn't want to think about what's been going on.' She reasoned with herself.

All four women looked up a minute later when Theo rushed into the room, looking a bit haggard, which seemed extremely out of place for the Archmage.

"Theo, what?"

"We have a bit of a situation." He said, clearing his throat. He just knew that the council would freak out when they heard about this. He had been fortunate enough to hear about what had happened first, but he didn't think it would be too much longer before the others heard. Looking at Nodoka, then his daughter Britanny, he wondered how they would take this news, nothing they had heard so far had been good, at least when it concerned a certain Werecheetah/Smilodon hybrid.

Sighing, Julia motioned of him to continue. "What had happened couldn't be any worse than what had happened so far, could it?" Be it either fatigue or just stress, Julia really didn't realize what she had just said.

Theo groaned. "Well, it wouldn't be so bad, if Seer's Hamlet hadn't been just raided."

"But aren't the Edge Guard stationed in that area?" Julia asked, frowning slightly. She had taken the time to find out where all the Edge Guard were stationed at shortly after arriving.

Britanny, Gina and Nodoka moved their heads back and forth as the other two adults conversed, nearly looking as though they were watching a ping pong match.

"Yes, but that's where the situation comes up. During the raid on Seer's Hamlet, it seems that they were defeated by the raiding group, who, in turn, released several prisoners that were being held there."

"Must be some good fighters if they can take down the Edge Guard." Gina noted, remembering that the Edge Guard were supposed to be some of the best fighters around, being a nearly military faction, and charged with keeping the peace on Jade and the Retreat.

Her father looked at her, nodding slowly. "Yes, very good fighters." He just hoped that it wouldn't take too much for the rest to figure out what he just said.

Julia groaned. "Don't tell me..." She trailed off, sighing. "Dammit! And we finally got the council to agree to leave him alone too!" This was just what they needed, that hybrid to go insane and start attacking innocents.

Britanny blinked, she had a strong feeling what had happened, but she wasn't totally sure. "Um, wha..."

"Apparently," Nodoka started, interrupted the younger Werecheetah, "my son and the people he has been hanging around with, have attacked the Edge Guard and defeated them." One on hand, she was happy that her son had some friends on this world, even if they were criminals. On the other hand, she was furious that her son was hanging around with the wrong crowd, attacking innocents and police officers. Then again, the fools on this world hadn't given him a chance to exist peacefully here.

"What about the Council? What's their reaction to all of this?" Julia asked, rubbing her forehead tiredly. This day couldn't suck any worse than what it was already.

"They don't know yet." Theo said, careful not to smirk.

The ladies in the room blinked, how had he managed to do that? Thinking about the stress that they had all been under the past few days, it was probably better that they didn't know.

 **by Matdeception**

Claudius frowned. The cheers of prisoners as they escaped their cells before fleeing had reached him, even as deep as he was within the Prison. Smilodon.. Smilodon... What the hell was going on?

Turning his spiritual head, the unseen chains of magic that held him shifted as well. Staring at the door to his cell, the Nogitsune frowned deeply. "Are they going to release me, as well?" he asked out loud when he felt the subtle buildup of Magic begin coalescing on the other side.

FWOOSH!

The door, nay, the entire wall suddenly blew into flames. The flickering deadly fires burning the barrier to ashes within moments of starting, yet even after the wood had been destroyed, the fires still burned, as if held in place by unseen streamers of power.

"What the.." Claudius frowned, backing away slightly as a figure clothed in dark moved through the flames without fear. Paying attention, the spiritual man saw as the flames themselves bent to the robed figure moving through the flames. The deadly conflagration licking at the person's body, yet neither burning the clothing nor the person as they entered the room.

"Who are you!" Cladius growled dangerously, bringing his arms up as if to unleash some type of defensive spell. He realized, on some level, that it was an impossibility. The spells that held him, bound for the rest of his life within these hallowed halls, prevented him from doing anything more than surviving.

The figure raised its head, eyes gleaming an ethereal hue of crimson as Claudius eyes widened in shock at who he beheld. "What are you doing here?" the spirit sneered, "Come to let me out?"

The Manipulator grinned devilishly, "In a way..."

Claudius blinked. This was the last person, aside from his bastard father Mamori, that he expected to ever break him out of jail. Something seemed wrong, no, scratch that, something was sure as hell wrong with this picture. "What the..."

The Manipulator rose it's hand, tiny streamers of flame spreading from the fingertips as it's hands moved, "It's quite convenient, these spells that hold you at bay. Don't you think?" clenching its fist, the flames suddenly erupted into torrents, flying through the air quickly to slam into the surprised and chained Spiritual Nogitsune.

Claudius hissed, trying to dodge even though he knew the chains that held him there wouldn't even allow that much of a luxury. He could do nothing as the fires came into contact with his form, and for the briefest of moments he pondered if he was going to be killed this day. Heck, even HE didn't think this person would be capable of such.. malice towards anyone. He was reasonably curious when he felt no pain, only a subtle relief as the spells that held him at bay suddenly broke.

"Free?" the Nogitsune blinked, moving around the room curiously to test his new found freedom. Hot damn! He was free! Grinning evilly, Claudius began moving towards the figure, "Hey, thanks for freeing me. Hope you don't mind if I take your body!" and he lunged towards the still figure, completely missing the insidious smile appearing on the Manipulator's lips.

"I don't think so."

The spirit's world erupted into flame and ash.

Claudius hissed as consciousness restored itself. Geesh that chick packed quite a punch.

His rescuer simply glared at the spirit, not even bothering to speak.

"Okay.. just who the hell are you?" The Nogitsune hissed. When he attempted to merge his spirit with that of his rescuer, he had been shocked to find someone else inhabiting the body. It made sense, now that he thought about it. No way in heck would this person normally free him. Only.. it looked like this part of his benefactor wasn't the dominant spirit within. Which just begged the question of why.. he certainly seemed powerful enough.

Smirking, the Manipulator spoke, "Call me.. Saffron." the figure stood up then, motioning towards the exit, "My time is limited, as I'm sure you understand."

Claudius nodded slowly. rising to his feet, "What do you want?"

Walking out of the room, the spirit following, Saffron shrugged, "I have what I want. You'll notice the bonds that held you are no longer present as they were."

Claudius blinked, what the hell did that mean. Having a sick feeling about all this, he closed his eyes and focused eternally. Sure enough, after a few moments of examining his soul, he found the strands of magic that had once been the bond. Only it was dormant, and seemed to be altered in some way... He blinked as he realized just what was going on, "You think you can control me?"

Saffron whipped around, eyes burning with hellfire as flames surrounded his form. The spirit felt the bonds tightening around his spirit, threatening to effectively 'crush' him. "You have no choice.. landling.."

 **by Matdeception**

"I released you for a purpose, landling." his.. owner sneered dangerously.

Considering just what body the spirit known as Saffron had taken, it didn't exactly carry the effect he assumed the spirit had intended. Still, he was smart enough to figure it out. Tightening his fists, the spirit of the Kitsune Elder's disgraced son glared, but bit back his scathing remark at being so.. spoken down upon.

The figure of his tormenter traveled the halls, many of which blazing with his energy. Fires wailed, rose to the heavens and burned everything around. As if a living thing at the beck and call of this.. person, the charred remains of the burning prison emitted large plumes of smoke which parted before him, moving down adjacent halls and smothering it in its choking oppressive atmosphere. Dimly he could hear the shouts of the prisoners growing slightly louder as the two moved through the halls, accompanied by the sounds of battles as the local Milita had entered the fray to contain the escaping prisoners. A pair of said Milita had stumbled on them, took one look at his.. owner, nodded in respect and moved on as they sought out more of the escapee's.

They had stopped and taken a long look at the Spiritual essence of the former Kitsune, but a quick and cherry "He's under control! I'll take care of him!" from his manipulator set their minds at ease.

It wasn't long after the soldiers passed out of view that the sickeningly cute face the Manipulator had adopted returned to it's ever present scowl. Turning back down the halls, Saffron finally spoke once again. "It is to my understand, landling, that those of your.. ilk.." disdain dripping from the word, "Have need of a host in order to properly utilize your true power."

"Yeah.." Claudius managed to get out as they rounded a corner. The unconscious figure of someone he'd much rather not meet again laying on the floor. When Saffron waved towards the downed bastard, the spirit almost couldn't stop himself from screaming in abject misery. He didn't scream, but it was a close thing.

"This is the body I have prepared for you." Saffron turned it's burning eyes upon the spirit, "Take it." his Master ordered.

The Nogitsune glared at the bastard defiantly, until he felt those magical bonds squeeze about his form threateningly. Doing as he was bade, the spirit began to dissipate as he stepped into the body that had been prepared for him.

Combining with a host was always a terribly euphoric ordeal, at least for most Kitsune. Being a Nogitsune meant it was something else all together. Were Kitsune and host tend to come together in a meld of sort, fusing one's personality and memories with another, Claudius had long since discovered this facet of the melding as unacceptable. There were things he was prepared to accept from almost anyone, but considering just who he was being forced to meld with, and his past experiences, well he'd much rather not.

It didn't help any, but then again it didn't matter. Claudius as he was had ceased to be, Claudius was reborn. Terribly tragic story, I assure you.

Ranma spared the distant burning Hamlet a glance, the fires wasn't something he had been expecting, and it certainly hadn't been planned on as far as he was concerned. "Damn it."

The Ex-Wyrm looked at the burning town with a dispassionate gaze. Being married to Fauntleroy as long as she had gave her many similar experiences, especially with how often the Dragon in question raided Kingdom after Kingdom after Town after Town. That didn't mean she enjoyed it, or didn't enjoy. She had realized long ago she was quite apathetic, in traditional Dragon thinking, with the suffering of whom she considered her 'lessers'. Nothing in Seer's Hamlet was equal or above her in that regard, at least not since they and the others had left. "Six may have gotten a little over zealous." she sighed a bit, "I need to have a talk with that girl."

The Smilodon nodded crossing his arms while he turned away, not bothering to turn back into his human form just yet, "Let's go, we got a long trek ahead of us."

"Right." said his most recent lover, the two taking off down the crest of a hill and vanishing into the surrounding wilderness. Neither noticing the two pairs of eyes watching their movement from the foliage, one set of a animalistic sort, the others slanted like those of a lizard with apparent Malice held within.

A shimmering portal ripped into existence, five figures stepping into the large area. All baulked slightly at the smell of burnt oak and ash wafting through the wire. The sun had begun to set, the remaining fires of the still some what burning prison complex giving off an entirely surreal look to the place. Left and right wounded members of the Milita and those of the Order of Althe, Paladins, struggled to help the wounded be carried away. The sound of battle, however, was thankfully absent. From the look of things, they had arrived far too late.

Grabbing a soldier as he stumbled past them, eyes seeming lost in a haze of confusion as he moved about, Julia snapped, "Soldier! Report, what's going on?"

Staring blankly at the woman, it took many moments for the young man to steady himself mentally enough to realise just who had asked that question. "Armsmaster!" he grimaced. "There was an attack, an army of demons led by the Smilodon, Rook, the escaped Convicts Hanza, G'nolga, and Tanya R'ey assaulted the citizens and released the majority of the prisoners here."

"Where is the Smilodon now, child." the man blinked, gazing blankly at the pair of Were-cheetahs. "Uh.."

"Where?" Brittany snapped through clenched teeth.

Seance for himself was rather quiet during all this, eyes narrowed in concentration as he overlooked the wounded and still as of yet burning prison.

"I don't know! Onoli of the Edge Guard's taken command!" he pointed helplessly down the street, "The old Armory Vault, he's set up a base of operations there!"

Julia pushed the Soldier back, "Get to work putting those fires out, now." she ordered angrily. The man had just been stumbling around, doing nothing to help those who had been wounded in the battle, or put the fires out that where even now threatening to spread beyond the compound. A pair of hands during nothing in these dire situations was a pair of hands wasted. Turning to the others, "Gina, Brittany, see what you can do here. Seance, Saotome, follow me!" she snapped, turning down the street.

"Ow..." Sheila winced as Nali tentatively pressed a hand against her side, the broken ribs shifting slightly from the contact.

"You're lucky, Sheila." the older woman frowned, releasing the pressure. "G'nolga seriously worked you over, without your enhanced healing, I doubt you would have survived all this." she glanced over at the Were-Tiger Tigra, who sat sulking against one of the walls while staring blankly out into space. The man had to carry the injured jagwere here, struggling against the wounds he had sustained just to remain conscious as he did so. After getting her here, he simply slumped against the wall, refusing to say anything. He hadn't even put forth the will to regrow the hair that had been burned away somewhere in that inferno he had escaped from, a testament to how out of it the man was.

Onoli scowled, overlooking a map of the city. "I want security detachment placed here, by the water supply, and the out going portal to Durpan and Lirith." he shot the human at the table a look, "You have enough men for that?"

"Aye." The older looking human male grunted, his face a bloody mess from the rampaging demons earlier. "But not much fer anything else. 2/3rd's of me force be layin on the road battered and bruised." he sighed. Nali, Shissar, Vatillia, and even old Gregory had been called up to deal with the wounded and hurt, but even those expert healers were going to have a hell of a time coping with it all. Still, at least no one had died yet, always a good thing.

"See it done." Onoli ordered, saluting at the man, who returned the gesture and ran off, before turning to Thorpan, "Any luck?"

The Magi-Scientist shook his head at an adjacent table, where he was fiddling with a thin wooden flute with various crystals etched across it's surface, lying in a basin of water. "It takes time, Onoli. These things always do."

Gar grimaced. When they had.. been knocked unconscious, no never defeated, not Garfield Silvear, and woke up to discover the escaping convicts and the fire, they had forcibly put thoughts of tracking that bastard smilodon down to handle the situation. It wasn't until they ran into a rather large contingent of demons escaping the city that Onoli made a startling discovery.

Rain was gone.

Losing the Arc of Leadership was not a good thing. The distraught leader thought of every place it could possibly be, he remembered having it during the fight with the Smilodon, but not after waking up. The thought that Soul eating monster had the Arc was even worse. Thankfully, Thorpan knew of a way to track the Arc, provided it wasn't more than one hundred miles from the city, which it very well could be at this point, especially if that bastard Smilodon truly commanded that flying dragon he had heard earlier. "We can't let that bastard get away with this!"

"Get away with what?" an entirely serious, if very familiar voice snapped from the entrance. All eyes turned at the arrival of the red headed Armsmaster, and the Were-cheetah at her side. For a moment Garfield smiled at the Were-cheetah, thinking it Brittany, but the older looking woman had to be someone else, her features both in stature, dress, and facial graces were different.

"What the.."

Onoli grimaced, eye's meeting that of Julia's. "Good of you to come, Armsmaster." he nodded his head, in respect. "We have a situation on our hands."

"Yes.." the woman drawled, glancing at her Were-cheetah partner, "Status report."

The were-lion sighed, "We were attacked by the Smilodon and his allies. The demon cat.." he continued, oblivious of the Were-cheetah's glare, "Attack myself, Thorpan, and Gar with the aid of a purple haired Dragon in human form.. he were.. routed." he grimaced, "At the same time a Brown scaled Dragon, an Army of Lesser Demons along with Rook, Convicts Hanza, Tanya R'ey, and G'nolga assaulted the city and the Prison. They managed to defeat Sheila and Tirga, and release numerous prisoners. Just who is missing we haven't figured out yet.." he sighed, "It's total pandemonium at the moment."

Julia frowned. "You're hedging around a greater issue here, I can tell."

Gar winced. Julia was the head of the Edge Guard, even if only by Title. The Guard ran themselves for the most part, but even she had responsibilities and duties she had to oversee. The Arc was something she had to protect if they were ever endangered.

The Were-lion grimaced, "Rain was taken by the Smilodon."

The were-cheetah frowned, "Rain?"

If today could get any worse, the redhead didn't know how. Rubbing her forehead tiredly, she explained through gritted teeth, "A powerful artifact, and not one we want to fall into the hands of Ranma's allies."

Sheila frowned, "Who is Ranma?"

"The Smilodon." the Were-cheetah snapped, "And my son!"

Gar glared, "The foul wench that birthed that monster?!"

"The Demon whore?!" Tirga spoke up, finally breaking his silence.

Julia didn't even try to stop the older were-cheetah as she brutally beat the shit out of Tirga and Gar for that insult, both far to weak from their previous battle to put up more than a token resistance. One look from her stopped Sheila, Onoli, and Thorpan from getting involved. This was going to be a long, long week, and she knew it.


	5. outcasts of jade

**Outcasts of Jade**

 **by Sect**

 _Two months later_

The forest was filled with action; birds flew from branch to branch, squirrels harvested nuts, rabbits ran from brush to brush. All in all, a normal day.

Silently, a shadow creeped up one of the trees, moving from thick branch to thick branch. After several moments of climbing, the shadow halted long enough for any onlookers to realize that this shadow was a woman, only to grab a bow from her back and string it in one deft motion. Then, she continued to inch along an admittedly thin branch, carefully keeping her balance. When she reached close to the end of the cover of the branches and leaves, she halted, and waited.

She didn't have to wait long. Below, several trees away, existed a winding path. On this path was walking a great furred, bipedal creature. At this distance, all that could really been told about it was that it had black fur. However, the shadow in the tree knew that this was the one that she had been looking for. Swiftly, she removed an arrow from a quiver that rested on her hip. Nocking the arrow, the began whispering, calling eldritch energies into the arrow, to make it glow a soft blue. Seconds later, the arrow was released.

The arrow made little sound in its passage through the air; a blue streak marked its path. As it neared the creature, the creature _vanished_ , leaving the arrow to impact the ground and releases a blue wave of magical energy.

At least, to normal eyes the creature vanished. The shadow could see it's movement somewhat, and swore as she withdrew another arrow, knocked it, and fired, in the space of a second. The beast dodged at the last second, leaving it to embed itself in a tree.

Unfortunately for the sniper, this was enough to mark her position. The beast roared, causing all wildlife activity to halt, and charged towards her tree. The shadow drew _three_ arrows, and leapt to another tree while firing all of them simultaneously, one of them nicking the beast in the face. The leap would allow one to see her figure: small and lithe stature, with blond hair and pointed ears, as well as other features. If it wasn't for the other features, one would mistake her for an elf.

She landed and drew another arrow, only to vacate her new perch when a ball of blue... something was flung out of the beast's palm, blasting away the limb she was on. Fortunately, the woman grabbed another branch on the same tree, while managing to hold onto her bow and arrow. She looked and saw the beast, close enough to see that it was some sort of cat-beast, with fangs that rivaled a vampires, jump into the branches of another tree. Her eyes narrowed, and she dropped to a branch hanging a few feet below her. She still was around thirty feet off of the ground, while her opponent, she figured, was only fifteen.

She readied her arrow, and retreated closer to the trunk of her tree. She kept her eye on the cat-beast's tree, ready to release the arrow, while concentrating to bring the same blue glow to this arrow.

The elf-like girl did not have to wait long; the creature leapt towards her, and she smirked at its stupidity. Very few things could maneuver themselves in midair without wings. With that thought, she released the arrow, confident in its success.

As the arrow approached the cat, he _twisted_ around the projectile, allowing the arrow to pass by and strike an innocent tree. With her eyes wide in shock, the sniper barely managed to dodge the creature as he crashed into the tree, ready to attack. She scrambled around on the branches, dodging punches and ducking kicks from the cat-creature, and finally got breathing room by catching it by surprise, by hurriedly imbuing another arrow, this time with a red hue, and firing down at the branches they were standing on.

She was barely able to leap from her narrow platform in time to avoid the fireball that leapt from the arrow.

Landing unsteadily in another tree, the girl attempted to catch her breath, while cursing herself. Several feet to the side, the tree burned, with flames spreading to its other branches.

However, she did not have much time to recover, as evidenced by the roar of the creature, saying something in a strange language, followed by the blue blur of the same strange attack as before. Quickly, she leapt from the tree, in time for the ball to crash into her perch.

Looking down, she could only gape as the cat-creature sprang straight up at her. The impact was rough on her, due to the fact that she only had a split second to prepare for it. She flew off in an uncontrolled descent, spinning and tumbling. Fortunately, she was able to protect herself when she crashed into another tree, and bounced from branch to branch like a drunk and dazed pinball, before landing heavily on the ground. Stars erupted in front of her eyeballs, and she cried out from the sudden pain.

She was able to lift her face upwards from its meeting with the ground, in time to see the giant black cat-creature approach, with a look of resignation on his face.

"Well, yeah," the girl responded. "You're somewhat expected to do that when trying to collect bounties."

Ranma blinked, not exactly expecting any response from the girl. "... What bounty?" he asked, to which his captive responded by raising an eyebrow.

"What, you don't know? Your furry little head's worth seventy-five hundred, you know," she said, cocking her head sideways while peering at him. "Wow, surprised that you didn't figure that out, yet."

Ranma growled as he turned away from the bound bounty hunter. "Dammit, I haven't done nothin'..." he muttered.

"What?" the captive explained, seriously surprised. When Ranma turned back, with a questioning look upon him, she whistled softly. " **Wow** , you **really** don't know anything," she said, with a condescending tone in her voice.

A tone Ranma did not like. "Don't know **what**?" he growled, getting very fed up. What she said next really knocked him on his heels.

"That you're an evil entity, come to destroy the werecat race," she said, quite bluntly. She studied him as he opened and closed his mouth, with eyes **very** wide, then arched an eyebrow. "I'm guessing that wasn't your intention, eh?"

"N-n-NO!" the fighter nearly roared. "What the hell makes ya think that?" he asked angrily, advancing on the girl, as though he was going to rend her piece by piece. The act didn't fool her, however, as she began to chuckle.

"Figures. It's always the same."

Her statement had him confused, but he remained angry, as evidenced by him slamming a fist into the tree that she was leaning on. Cracks instantly erupted on the trunk, some hidden by her head, which was barely an inch from his fist. **Now** she was frightened.

Looking nervously at the fist, she chuckled weakly. "Yeah... well, if you'll untie me, I'll tell you what I know." Ranma's eyes narrowed as he leaned closer to her, staring at her eyes.

"Why should I?"

In her tied up position, she attempted a shrug. "Why not? You've already proven that I can't get the bounty on you," she offered. Ranma's eyes narrowed as he considered her words.

A few moments later, the archer was rubbing her freed wrists, while Ranma loomed over her. "Right, now start talking'," he growled. The pointy eared girl merely rolled her eyes.

"Patience is a virtue, you know," she said sarcastically as she sat back down. "Well, here's the deal: the werecats are convinced that you're some soul sucking boogeyman, eater of children, or something, so they want you taken care of."

"Why would they think that?" Ranma asked, clearly upset by this revelation. The girl merely shrugged.

"Hey, I'm no historian. I guess it's cause you're just the smilodon."

"Smilodon?"

The archer stared at him for a while, then shook her head. "Damn, you're oblivious. You don't even know what-" she shook her head as she cut herself off. "Never mind. Anyways, someone then posted a bounty on you, dead or alive. Three thousand gold, twenty-five hundred if dead."

Ranma frowned as he thought about this. "Wait, you said it was higher than that..." he muttered.

"Huh, at least you're paying attention," the girl remarked sarcastically, inciting another growl from the werecat. "At first, as you know, it was just another bounty to everyone; in fact, I think that a lot of people thought you were a vampiric werepanther, or something," she remarked lightly. Before he could question her, she continued, "Of course, as you know, these guys were returning with their asses kicked and all, so the bounty was raised. Eventually, people decided that taking you dead would be a lot better in the long run, hence, the 'Death Squads'." With this, Ranma's frown grew worried.

"They really **do** want to kill me?" he asked incredulously. The hunter nodded sagely.

"Pretty much; people will do a lot for money, since they're greedy." Unconsciously, the archer shuddered when Ranma trained a "gaze of doom" on her.

"Including' ya," he reminded, cracking his knuckles. The girl's eyes narrowed.

"Hey, unlike those guys, I **need** that money!" she shouted.

"Pfeh, whateva'," Ranma grumbled, as he turned away from her. After a few moments, he sniffed the air, then looked along the road. "Dammit, didja hafta burn up the entire forest?"

THe pointy eared girl frowned right back at him. "Hey, I was trying to get the hell away from you; I didn't want to use a Fireball imbued arrow on the tree." She walked over to pick up her bow. After inspecting the bow, then unstringing the weapon, she looked up at the sky. "Too bad, doesn't look like there's much chance for-" she was saying, before she was interrupted by a sudden onslaught of rain. After a few moments, and what felt like a few hundred gallons, the rain stopped immediately. She stared incredulously at the sky, which seemed as cloudless as it was seconds before. "Hell, at least it stopped the fire..." she muttered as she looked back at her former captor. And she stared.

Exactly where the large, muscular black furred werecat was standing before, in the exact same position, though now with an annoyed expression, was a top heavy female werecat, with dark, dark, red fur, but otherwise the same features as the male cat. The archer stared at the werecat, until the werecat looked over at her. "Shaddup," she mumbled, crossing her arms.

The archer did exactly that, though it looked like she was attempting to speak, thanks to her mouth opening and closing, repeatedly.

The female werecat sighed. "Yeah, it's fuckin' me, it's a curse, yadda yadda yadda." Then she glared at her. "And if ya think you're gonna tell this to ya bounty hunter pals, then think again," she threatened.

Finally, the girl was able to respond. "Yeah, well, I don't have many friends, anyways, so it makes no big deal."

Ranma blinked. "Eh? Why not?" The girl standing in front of her sighed as she reached up to tap her forehead.

"Not many people really like tieflings all that much," she explained, indicating the short horns poking out of her forehead. "Especially ones of elvish decent." She sighed, then walked up to the confused looking werecat. "By the way, my name's Lariel. Yours?" she queried, extending her hand.

It took Ranma a while to consider her hand, then she took it, in a large, furry grip. "...Ranma. Saotome Ranma."

"So what's a teefing?" Ranma asked casually, kneeling on the ground while trying to find the dryest bits of wood to start a campfire with.

Lariel rolled her eyes as she shrugged off her green jerkin. "Tief- **ling** ," she overanunciated. "Basically, a person of demonic descent. A friend of mine told me that to be considered a tiefling, you have to be at least three times removed from the demo that sired your ancestor," she explained while wringing out the rainwater that soaked into the article of clothing. For such a quick shower, there sure was a hell lot of rain! The currently female "monster" snorted as she picked out the choicest kindling, and began to prepare the fire.

"Heh, and they call me a 'demon'," she muttered darkly, grabbing two chunks of flint and steel, and flipped them over in her hands to find the best spot to produce sparks. Lariel leveled a glare at Ranma as she put the damp jerkin on an outlying tree branch.

"At least I don't have a death warrant out for me," she replied snidely, ignoring Ranma's growl. "And don't even ask how I'm related to demons and all." She walked over to where Ranma was striking the stones together, trying to light the fire. "Need help?"

The were smilodon snorted as the twigs she was lighting finally caught, and was beginning to smolder. "Nah, I'm fine," she replied, putting small bits of tree bark near the flaming twigs so that they would light. "Whaddya gonna do now?" she looking over at her companion.

Lariel shrugged as she tossed a few wood chips of her own into the young flamez. "Doesn't matter, though I'll probably go on some other money making scheme again," she replied off handedly. "Of course, they either don't work out, or they do, and I get booted out of the deal because the others don't like me." THis, she said with a darker and angrier tone.

Ranma blinked. "Why didja say that ya needed the money more than everyone did?" Lariel looked at the werecat for a few moments, then back at the fire.

"Need to know basis; you don't need to know," was her response. After looking at her for a few moments, Ranma added larger chunks of wood to the fire, and walked over to his pack. After rummaging around for a bit, he returned with a metal pot and a canteen. "Gotta warm me up some water," she muttered.

Still staring at the fire, Lariel asked, "So what's with that 'curse' of yours, Ranma?"

At this, Ranma growled darkly. "My old man's fault; he decided ta drag me to this training' area that was cursed. Damn man didn't even pay attention, and he got us cursed," she replied. "Water changes me: cold to girl, and' warm to boy." After this explanation, Ranma just knew what was coming next.

"So which are you?" the tiefling asked, prompting a sigh from Ranma. They **always** asked that.

"I'm a guy, dammit," Ranma responded wearily, loping back into the woods to find some sticks to prop the pot on. A few minutes later, she returned with some large sticks, to find that Lariel had pulled some dried meat out of her own pack.

As the red furred beast pounded the thick sticks to each side of the fire, Lariel studied her, noting the tired movements of the girl. Though the were was nearly more than three feet taller than her and most definitely outclassed her in terms of weight, and was obviously stressed and lethargic, she could tell that Ranma was extremely dexterous. 'That explains why... he was hopping around like a hyperactive halfling,' the archer noted wryly. Not to mention that the girl was really attractive, not that she would admit that to anyone, nu-uh.

Ranma sat down next to Lariel after she finished pouring part of the contents of the canteen, and was surprised at Lariel offering her some of the meat. Not one to turn down a meal, however, she quickly grabbed it and began ripping it apart, ignoring the overly spiced taste. The tiefling just shook her head in amusement, and continued eating.

Quiet hung around for a while, lounging around the campfire, before Ranma's voice ushered it out. "Ya also said that ya were-"

"Elvish," the archer interrupted, before sighing. "You really have no clue, do you?" Beside her, Ranma twitched with annoyance.

"Hey, I've only been here for two months! They don't have half cats or elvish or whatever back home!" she argued, causing Lariel's eyebrow to rise in interest.

"Wait, you're from Earth?" she asked, quite surprised. Quickly, she stuffed the surprise. "Well, it's not 'elvish', rather 'elves' that they call them. Basically, elves are long-eared snobbish bastards that like to act like they're better than everyone else, because they live for a few centuries longer than all the other people," she explained with much bitterness. At Ranma's questioning look, she continued, "I've only met two full blooded elves that I actually liked. All the other ones are..." she looked like she was searching for a word, then just grew frustrated and clammed up.

"Heh, I've known some people that acted kinda like that," Ranma responded after a short interlude of silence, "but they were wackos, anyways."

Lariel gave a brief chuckle. "Well, elves don't have the excuse of insanity. And they always try to pin things on me, because who I am." Ranma grinned mirthlessly.

"Same here. Course, I wasn't no 'boogeyman' or whatever back then, but back home everybody blamed everything on me, like it was my fault," she added. Lariel looked over at her companion and chuckled.

"Wow, we're kind of similar, aren't we?" she asked, to which Ranma replied with a nod. A few moments passed before Lariel looked at the pot that was hanging over the fire. "How hot does the water need to be?"

THe were smilodon leaned over the pot, then removed it from the fire. "This good," she muttered as she dumped the water on her, avoiding splashing the water on the campfire. Ranma closed her eyes as she felt the tingling that accompanied her changes.

When he open his eyes, he saw Lariel peering at him intently. "You know, that's actually pretty interesting," she muttered. His eyes narrowed.

"Ain't very interesting when you get called a pervert 'cause of it," he countered, ignoring the questioning look on Lariel's face.

Together, they watched the burning wood as it crackled. After tossing a few branches onto it, the elven tiefling turned to the were smilodon. "Hey, you know how to change, right?"

Ranma gave her a puzzled glance. "Yeah, with water." Lariel rolled her eyes.

"I mean as a werecat. You know, from human to hybrid to animal, right?"

The black furred cat's eyes widened. "I can do that?" he asked, wondering why he never found out about this before.

The archer fixed him with an incredulous stare, then sighed. "I guess not. The thing is, you could just hide out, if you knew how to change back to human form."

"Well, can ya teach me?" Ranma asked while leaning forward, obviously intrigued. He then winced as he was whacked in the head.

"Of course not! I'm not a were, you know!" Lariel shouted, clearly annoyed. "I have a... friend, who's a werepanther. I **might** be able to talk her into teaching you. Of course, there **is** the itty-bitty problem of you being the 'devourer of souls' and all, but..." she trailed off, noticing the stoic look on Ranma's face.

Ranma didn't say anything for a while. "... Ok, what's in it for ya?" he asked. Lariel stared at him for a while, then shook her head as she stood up.

"Not much, really. Don't have an actual reason to turn you in, and you're a decent fellow," she remarked, walking over to where she hung her shirt. She grabbed the shirt, then after checking to see if it was dry, put it on. "Just think of it as a 'thank you for not ripping me to shreds after I fired some _entangle_ imbued arrows at you' gift," she deadpanned. She walked back over to the werecat, then stuck her hand out again. "Deal?"

Again, Ranma considered her hand for a while, then accepted it. "All right."

If a person was to look at the city of Temuel, they would see a city of change; large stone buildings were being torn down to create room for inferior wooden structures, towers could be seen being renovated and repaired in order to use it for some new purpose, and many beings, human, werefolk, elven, and others, could be seen converging in the streets.

In the more central parts of the city, the alterations that could be seen in the surrounding areas could not be found. The stone buildings still stood strong, and the towers were in poorer condition than the ones that a traveler could see when they first entered the city. This particular part of the city had not seen the change that had came to the outer rims.

Well... all except one, smaller building that resembled a library, only two stories high. To a person's eyes, it would seem that the owner of said building had repaired it many times, and not bothered disguising the fact: metal plates were hammered into the stone walls, shutters for windows were wildly varying in quality and appearance, and there was even an odd metal tube sticking out from the roof, which would sometimes belch out smoke and ash.

Lariel sweatdropped when she saw the repaired door, which was originally dark brown, but had somehow acquired light brown circles in it. Shaking her head, the tiefling pounded on the heavy door once, twice, thrice, then waited.

And she waited, arms crossed over her green jerkin, which was partially covered by the dark brown cloak that she had over her head.

Finally, the archer pressed her head against the door, and listened carefully. After a few moments, she straightened, but the line of her mouth pulled back into a snarl. "Stupid tinkerer..." she muttered, getting a large key from her pocket. She inserted the key into the lock, and twisted it.

The problem was, the key wouldn't turn. Lariel growled, and began twisting the key as hard as she could, and even attempted shoulder ramming the door, but fortune did not assist her; in fact, fortune nearly dislocated her limb. The archer yanked out the key in frustration, then knelt down to examine the lock.

"Great, she changed the lock," she muttered, rubbing her bruised shoulder. She stepped back from the door and glanced around for an open window.

She found that entrance about fifteen feet up, and away from any convenient handholds or ledges. Her eyebrow twitched in aggravation as she looked up.

Several minutes later, Lariel dragged her body through. "Stupid tinkerer..." she growled as she panted on the ground. After a few moments of catching her breath, she climbed to her feet and looked around the room, and sighed as she saw that it was filled with crates, many which had various warnings on them. She closed the shutters, then proceeded to find the owner of the building.

She found her a minute or two later, making a racket in the basement. Lariel blinked at the large contraption that the person she was looking for was currently digging through. "Should I even ask?" Lariel shouted, trying to be heard over the ruckus.

The figure stopped moving, then began digging itself out of the jumble of oddly shaped metal. "Lariel? What are you doing here?"

The demonic-like half-elf studied the now unearthed werecat. She had fur the color of night, with hair gathered into a tight ponytail; if her fur was any lighter, than it would probably display the same sort of black streaks that was being exhibited on her brown coveralls and white tunic. She did not have the height or build of a fighter (though she did stand over Lariel by several inches), but her yellow eyes revealed the vast intellect that compensated for the lack of strength. Last of all, the scowl on her face, and the narrowed brows, revealed that she was rather upset at the tiefling's visit.

"Hey, can't a friend climb through the second story window whenever she feels like it?" the archer asked, opening her arms so that she could receive the snort that the werepanther replied with.

"Come on, when was the last time that you made an unselfish stop?" the werepanther remarked, crossing her arms over her generous chest.

Lariel merely grinned. "Nice to see that you're still perceptive, Dru." The cat stared at her for a few moments, then chuckled as she crossed the room over to her, in order to embrace her. They hugged for a few moments, as old friends do, then separated.

"So, how are you, Lariel?" Dru asked the tiefling.

"Horrible. You know, the same things," she offered as an excuse. "Was actually able to get a bounty, but the last one I took went bad." Lariel wandered near a collection of tables, looking at large drawings of a strange, sleek object with four wings and a wedge shaped "body". Lariel rolled her eyes at the thought of Dru claiming that the machine was a flying vehicle, before something on the table caught her eye.

Dru raised an eyebrow as she walked back to the metallic monstrosity she was previously crawling in. "What, did you not get the reward again?" she asked, looking back at her friend.

Lariel picked up a strange contraption and studied it. "Well, not exactly..." she trailed off, peering down the dark cylinder of the device. Out of curiosity, she poked a protruding lever on the underside of the device... And it was pushed out of her hands by Dru just as it made a cracking noise. A blur raced through the tube, followed by smoke and a foul stench.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" the werepanther snared, picking up the object where it lay on the ground. Lariel blinked, trying to get the smell of charcoal and sulfur out of her senses, and looked behind her. When she spotted the cracks in the wall, all originating from one point, she understood.

"Dru! You're still messing with **that** technology?" she asked incredulously. The mechanic shrugged as she examined the weapon.

"I finally got the mix right," she said, replacing the device on the table next to a series of glass beakers and tubes, which were filled with an orange conglomerate of some sort. "Now, I'm trying to figure out an easier way to actually fire the damn thing."

"It fired well enough when I touched it," Lariel countered. "But in any case," she continued, cutting off any further discussion, "I need you to do me a favor."

"Why? It'll probably only get one or both of us arrested..." Dru asked jokingly, until she saw the expression that flitted across her face. "... No, you can't be serious."

"Dru..."

"No, damn it!" Dru snarled. "I've been in jail enough times for you!"

"Dru!" Lariel shouted, stopping Dru's imminent rant. She paused for a few moments, then proceeded. "Dru, what I'm asking you is kind of illegal..."

"'Kind of'?" Dru repeated in a sarcastic tone, which Lariel ignored.

"... But I guarantee it will be worth your time... and worth risking being thrown into prison," Lariel implored, clasping her hands in front of her. Dru's glare continued as she locked eyes with the half-elf, then softened after several moments.

"... Are you going to beg?"

"I'm not **that** desperate."

"This had better be good," Dru growled as she followed her friend through the forest outside of Temeul. "I was trying to get the..."

"Whatever it was that you were doing," Lariel informed her, "it would probably blow up your workshop, like the last however many 'projects' you've done."

Dru adopted a hurt expression, though it couldn't exactly be seen in the darkness of sunset. "Hey, I was on a breakthrough!"

"We're here," Lariel said, stopping in front of a large tree. Dru blinked her eyes, and looked at the massive oak. After a few moments of looking around, she saw a small opening under the roots.

"Down there?" she asked. At the half-elf's nod, the werepanther walked to the natural cave. She sniffed around, and was surprised to note a feline smell. "Werecat? But no werecat smells like this..." she trailed off, thinking.

Or, at least was thinking, until Lariel's boot nudged her down the hole. Dru yelped and tumbled until she landed hard on stamped earth. The mechanic groaned a bit while her friend slid through the hole in a much more graceful manner.

Before Dru could right herself and demand an explanation, a voice reverberated in the cave. "This your cat friend you were talkin' 'bout?"

Dru blinked at the gruff voice, and stood up. She looked around the dark, circular cave, just seven feet in height, and about ten feet in radius, with a dirt floor and a root ceiling. Thankful for her ability to see in the dark, she looked around for the person that Lariel must have wanted her to meet.

When she found the possessor of the earlier voice, she gasped, and would have turned white if her fur allowed her to. Scrunched down in the cramped space was a monstrous, black furred creature, with canines the length of a dagger, and glowing eyes... the Smilodon!

Dru did the only thing she could do...

"... Hey, she all right?"

A sigh emanated from Lariel as she knelt down to her fainted friend. "She will be, maybe."


	6. A Different Type of Were - Edge Guard

**A Different Type of Were - Edge Guard**

 **by Red Priest of the 17th Order**

The Edge Guard looked over this 'Ranma Saotome'. They weren't sure what to make of what he was, he was like some sort of demonic werecheetah. Black and gold fur all about, with mostly black fur all over his body. His backside was covered with golden fur, spotted with black like a cheetah. His long hair was also the same cheetah-patterned fur. The only thing breaking the monotony of gold and black of his fur were two white stripes of fur over his eyes as eye-stripes. Naturally, the reactions and emotions of the Edge Guard gathered were varied.

Gar wasn't sure how to react. This unknown werecat before him had literally saved them all, saved his sister's life, AND kicked ass with a vengeance... As well as an incredible amount of brutality, but Gar was willing to overlook that. Those thugs had been brutal themselves, and it was going to take a bit of action to put them down for some time.

And yet, as Gar looked 'Ranma' over, he couldn't help but compare him to a werecheetah. Same pattern coat, though the coloring for the rest of the fur and the eye-stripes were switched... And those were some really sharp, and long fangs. "Maybe he's an undead Vampire-cheetah?" Gar questioned mentally.

Holding onto her stomach, Sheila looked over her savior. He was definitely unique, and not so much in a bad way... Heck, even the fangs somehow added to his charisma, making him look dangerous and somehow handsome at the same time. This werecat had such a incredible ice-magic. It was like nothing she ever felt before. It made her look like a novice in comparison. "And then there was that other stuff... Maybe he's an aura mage?" Sheila wondered

Like the jagwere siblings, Tirga was looking over Ranma as well... However, his thoughts were not on the appearance and brutality of this strange werecat. No. He was more concerned over the fact the bloomers he was wearing were bunched up his butt. Damn, was it EVER uncomfortable! "How do women stand these things!?" The irate weretiger groaned mentally.

Thropan was stretching slightly. It had taken him awhile to get ahead to the area the others were, but he really wasn't prepared for the sight. This was the most unusual-looking werecat he had ever seen. "Maybe he's a cross between a werepanther and a werecheetah..." Thropan thought, but then shook his head. "Nah. No way is he a werepanther. I don't know others of my breed that have teeth THAT sharp..."

Onoli took to the situation more calmly than his compatriots. True, everybody was tired, hurt, and just wanted to rest up. But there was still this man. This unknown werecat that seemingly came out of nowhere and pulled their asses out of the fire. So it was Onoli who made the first move to acknowledge Ranma.

Walking over to the sabretooth werecheetah, Onoli bowed respectfully. "Thank you for your assistance, Ranma Saotome. I am Onoli, head of the Northern Edge Guard. Allow me to give you our thanks."

Ranma blinked his eyes in surprise, but mentally sighed in relief. After the long moments of silent tension with no one speaking, he thought he had done something wrong. "No, Onoli-san, it is all right. I was just doing what anyone would do."

It was at this point that Gar moved himself back to his feet. He walked, (okay, he limped) over to Ranma. "Hey. The name's Gar Silvear. And thank you, Ranma Saotome. You really pulled out bacon out of the fire. You saved my sister's life."

Ranma blinked. "Sister? I thought she was your daughter."

Sheila growled, but winced as she tried to. Her body was still hurt, and she would need time to heal. "The name's Sheila Silvear. And for your information, this was a trap for those bandits, we were pretending to be a small family."

Ranma blinked and nodded his head. "Ah, I see..." Ranma was tempted to comment about them being the ones trapped, but held back. He didn't want to make a bad impression. He turned to look at the weretiger. "I take it the girl over there is your girlfriend then, Gar?"

It was at that point that Thropan Sheila started busting a gut. In Sheila's case, literally, as she was holding onto her hurting sides. Gar looked white as a ghost, and Tirga was growling. "For your information... I AM A MAN!" Tirga growled. To prove his point, he pulled down the top of his dress to bunch it around his waist, showing off his muscular pectorals. "SEE!?"

Ranma blinked his eyes once, then twice. He just shrugged his shoulders. "I seem to meet more and more cross-dressers lately."

"CROSS-DRESSER!?" Tirga yelled.

To that, Ranma once again shrugged his shoulders. "Well, if the shoe fits... I mean, you're wearing a full outfit!"

Thropan continued to laugh out loud. "HE'S GOT YOU THERE, TIRGA!"

"AH, CAN IT, THROPAN!" The ticked-off tiger yelled back at the werepanther rolling with laughter.

Ranma watched as Tirga tried arguing with Thropan, and grinned. There was no way he could annoy the werepanther, Ranma could see the black-furred cat-man was just too laid back. It brought a smirk to his face as it reminded him of times when Akane would go at him, and he kept his cool rather easily. He always loved and would never forget those sparring sessions.

Still there were more important matters at hand. Ranma walked over to the female jaguar-looking girl. "Hey, are you alright?"

Looking up at Ranma, Sheila froze. Seeing Ranma up close, she could see that Ranma was as tall as Onoli, albeit leaner than the werelion... But he was still muscular in his own right.

Realizing Ranma had asked her a question, Sheila nodded her head. "I, I'm okay. I just need time to heal..." Sheila trailed off as she was looking up into Ranma's eyes... He may have looked scary, but his eyes... They were the most beautiful sapphire-color she had ever seen. Almost made her feel rather... 'Warm'.

Ranma waved a hand back and forth in Sheila's face. "Hey, you alright?"

Sheila blushed, realizing she had been daydreaming. She decided to cover that up... "Sorry! I was thinking."

"Thinking?" Ranma asked. "About what?"

Sheila blushed a little, unsure of a good scenario. Then it hit her. "I was wondering... What kind of werecat are you? I've seen a a few that were similar, the were cheetahs, but they were nowhere near your build or coloration..." Sheila then blushed. "Not to mention that they have nowhere near the set of teeth you do."

Thropan, who had calmed down, had walked over to Ranma and Sheila. "Come to think of it, I was wondering the same thing. What kind of werecat are you, Ranma?"

Ranma, for the most part, looked rather confused. "I'm a 'werecat'? What's a werecat? Are they like werewolves or something?" Noticing that all five the the Edge Guard gathered around him were staring at him in shock, he asked, "Was it something I said?"

 **by Philip Weigel**

Oloni blinked, "Hmm, you really don't know what a werecat is? Do you?"

Ranma shook his head. "Nope, hell, just yesterday I was a normal, well, not-so-normal human." His eyes flashed, "Then a jerk faced Phoenix named Saffron showed up and decided to get his revenge on me for beating him about a year or so ago. He showe up and' then just started flinging fireballs around, killing people." He closed his eyes, trying to stop the emotions and pain that came with it. "I tried to stop him, I did, but he wasn't following me out of the area and he was just blasting everyone, and suddenly I snapped and something inside of me just woke up and then I changed into what you see here." He gestured to himself. Ranma then narrowed his eyes, "Then I killed him." He shuddered, "Sorry."

Gar winced, it didn't take a genius to know that some of those people had been the guy's family. Having lost his own parents when he was young caused him to be a bit more sympathetic than most would be.

Thropan winced, "That sucks. Still, how did you end up here? And where are you from?"

Ranma shrugged, "I'm from Japan, on Earth."

Oloni nodded, "Well, at least that explains why you don't know what a werecat is."

Ranma nodded, "Yeah, I don't know what a werecat is, at least until you told me." He then scratched his head and blinked, "Oh and for how I got here, well, there was an old woman named Cologne who gave me a scroll that allowed me to come here."

Tirga wasn't really paying attention. "Damn it! I just want to get out of these clothes. Can we just go?"

Sheila sighed, she had wanted to find out a bit more about this werecat. She stood up, but winced and had to grab her stomach again. 'Damn, this sucks.' She blinked when she felt some arms go around her to support her. She looked up and saw Gar helping her. "You know sis, you really shouldn't move too much until you heal properly." Sheila just frowned, Gar shook his head, "You know how magic effects werecreatures."

Gar then looked at Ranma and sighed, "Look, no offense, but we are hurting a bit here, I was wondering if you'd like to come with us."

Ranma blinked, "What for?"

Oloni spoke up, "Well, that way we can find out what type of werecat you are. There are some mages that we know and they can figure out what you are."

Ranma shrugged, "Sure lead the way." He then frowned as he noticed how much trouble Gar was having helping Sheila. "Here, let me help." Gar and Sheila were going to say something, but didn't get a chance to. "I'm not hurt, you two are, It'd be best if I helped you out." Gar nodded and Ranma picked up Sheila and carried her. Sheila flushed at the close contact and Tirga growled a bit. Gar then put his arm around Ranma's shoulder and they walked towards Seer's Hamlet.

"I think this will do." Oloni spoke as they started walking.

The Great Stooges Gang finally quit running after about twenty minutes. Moe and Larry looked at Curly. "Well, now what?" They asked at the same time.

Curly was just gibbering to himself, "Can't stop, cat will eat me. Can't eat, cat will eat me. Can't sleep, cat will eat me."

Larry looked at Moe, "I think he snapped."

Moe just nodded, "Yep. Well, let's hope he recovers."

"Can't stop, cat will eat me. Can't eat, cat will eat me. Can't sleep, cat will eat me." He then passed out.

Moe blinked, "Well, let's wait until he wake up."

...

...

...

...

...

We'll come back to The Great Stooges Gang later.

Meanwhile in a certain tower of a certain undead knight.

Rook couldn't put his finger on it, but he had just felt an incredible amount of power. Power that he had never felt before. He peered into his crystal ball and blinked when he saw a werecat with the Edge Guard that he had never seen before. "What the?" He looked at this new creature. He couldn't figure out what it was, "A vampire-werecheetah perhaps? But I thought that the werecheetah living with the Diggers was the only one to survive." He shook his head, obviously another werecheetah had survived the slaughter and had remained hidden all this time.

Rook then groaned, "Great, anyone with any access to the Ethereal Stream will be able to feel the power that he used."

Indeed Rook was right, for many of the Arch-Mages had felt the power, and the only ones who didn't weren't on Jade at the moment.

 **by Red Priest of the 17th Order**

Brianna was currently working on tuning up her Peebo Scouts. She had finished with uploading new data into PeeGi, and tuned-up PeeBrit's speed boosters, and was now going to put a new weapon her PeeBri. "Want something' that makes BIG BOOM!" PeeBri said rather energetically.

Brianna shook a finger at her Peebo Scout. "Sorry PeeBri. No big booms for you..." She smiled, "However, I have included a new taser-option onto your stun blasters!"

"Yay!" PeeBri cheered. "Up-close combat! GO SHOCK!"

And so, as Brianna was fastening a new small, taser-cannon onto her precious Peebo Scout, a mechanical voice echoed throughout the Lab.

 _"Media sample found! Media sample found!"_

Rolling her eyes, Brianna sighed. She knew that when Gina had first set up a monitoring network to keep an eye on international news broadcasts and such, everyone was pretty sure it would be useful, keeping everyone on top of the game when it came to finding out about Lycanthropic activity around the world. Instead, what the computer was finding were a number of rather pointless news broadcasts, television shows, and old horror movies.

"It can wait..." Brianna said, and went back to working on her precious little Peebo Scout. "Hold still, while Brianna does her thing!"

"Thanks, Bri!" PeeBri said in thanks.

"You know, Brianna, you should check what the computer found." PeeGi said. "Gina always checks."

"Well, there you go." PeeBrit said. "She ain't Gina!"

Hearing that, Brianna sighed. "Since when the hell did my Peebos get in charge?" She grumbled as she walked over to a computer. She typed on the keyboard and called up an image. A Newscast from Japan. A major battle between some sort of fire-bird monster and a rather cute guy with a pig-tail... And then he changed...

Brianna's eyes widened. She ran over to an intercom and slammed her hand down on the button and screamed as loud as she could manage. "CHEEEEEEEEEEETTAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! GIIIIIIIIINNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAA! GET YOUR BUTTS DOWN HERE!"

(-)

In the offices of Agency Zero, the head of the Agency, an 'Agent M', was watching a television set intently. A Phoenix. A damned fiery phoenix had appeared in Tokyo and was causing mass amounts of property damage.

And there was that human fighting the phoenix. Either he was very brave or very foolish. Probably both.

And M watched the fight, genuinely wondering how people watching this were going to take to it. It was a tremendous fight, and it seemed like the poor human couldn't get an edge in...

And then M recieved a bit of a surprise. The boy wasn't even human. "What is that?" M wondered. "He looks like some sort of werecheetah, but the color is slightly off.

M leaned back in his chair and continued to study the scene, while making a mental note to contact his old friend Theodore Diggers. He would probably want to hear of this. Most definitely.

(-)

In his office in Hokkaido, Gothwrain was taking time out of his busy schedule to watch the evening news. He had spent a lot of time working on the budget earlier that day, and decided to keep in touch With what was going on with the world. It made him want to laugh, seeing how pathetic the humans were with their interest in such mundane things as sports, music, and their travesty of political leaders...

But there was one story. Coverage of an event in Japan. A Phoenix! Well, that was very surprising. Usually beings of magic were secretive when in the Earth Realm, not wanting to attract attention to themselves or their species...

And the Phoenix seemed to be attacking the town, no, a martial artist. The town just happened to be unfortunate as to be the vicinity of where the battle was taking place. Still, no skin off his nose. They had nothing to do with the Phoenix race. So this event would make for good coverage and...

Then Gothwtain's eyes widened, his cigar falling from between his fingers and landing on the floor. Gothwrain practically shit a brick in his pants. "No, it couldn't be..."

The scene was so vivid, and brought back up old, powerful memories of Gothwrain's. The prophecy of the Wererat Clan's Seer. A powerful, fanged cheetah leaping through a wall of fire. Gothwrain himself had seen the prophecy when the Seer projected it. And this was the exact same scene.

The Prophecy was being fulfilled!

Gothwrain didn't know what to think. He had worked so hard to make sure that the werecheetah race had been extinguished, even had the survivors being watched. And now, out of the blue, there's a new werecheetah! A monster of a werecheetah. "Ah well," Gothwrain thought, "Hopefully my fire magic will... Protect... Me?"

Seeing the werecheetah literally tear out a Phoenix's throat with it's jaws, and not flinch, Gothwrain DID shit a brick. Oh hell, this thing seemed to be immune to fire. Oh hell, was he ever screwed!

But then... As if someone was listening to Gothwrain's prayers, he watched as the demon werecheetah, and the Phoenix corpse literally fell into a canal, the water steaming and bubbling well beyond it's boiling point as waves of steam shot up. The Phoenix and the werecheetah were gone, leaving behind one heck of a watery mess. The water had become so hot, it had melted the concrete that made up the canal.

"Oh shit... That was incredible..." Gothwrain mumbled, and reached a shaking hand for a cigar. It seems that the werecheetah had vaporized itself with the Phoenix and the water. Still, it wasn't something to take lightly... "If there was one, there could be more..." Gothwrain muttered. He'd have to send a few men down there to question survivors of the attack.

But first... Gothwrain felt a need for a few doses of Valium...

(-)

Britanny, Gina, and Brianna were crowded around a computer screen, having watched the new-report. All three looked a little down. "I can't believe it..." Britanny muttered. "Another werecheetah, and he bites the dust..."

"I know what you mean..." Gina said. She had been interested, seeing a phoenix, but she had become genuinely excited once she watched the nice studly guy turn into some sort of breed of werecheetah... "Poor guy... Vaporized in a splash of water..."

Brianna sighed. It looked like there had been a chance for survivors... But now... The one they saw was being listed as dead. "What a bummer."

All three Diggers girls sighed and gave a moment of silence for the recently discovered and lost werecheetah.

(-)

"ACHOO!" Ranma sneezed, quite violently. He had his head turned so he would not sneeze in the girl in his arms, nor her brother that was leaning on his shoulder.

Looking up at Ranma, Sheila asked, "Do you have allergies?"

Sniffling, Ranma said, "Not that I know of."

 **by Philip Weigel**

Cologne made her way to the Saotome household, she just hoped that Nodoka could shed some light on what had happened to Ranma. When she got to the front door, she knocked. And waited several minutes for Nodoka to open the door. Cologne winced inwardly as she saw that Nodoka had been crying, and it didn't take two guesses as to why. "W-what is it that you want?"

Cologne smiled gently, "You shouldn't cry."

Nodoka nearly snarled, "Why not?! My son fought that bird-person, unlocked his true power and then died on me!"

Cologne shook her head, "He's not dead. In fact he's very much alive at this moment."

Nodoka blinked in shock, "Just what do you mean?" She asked anxiously.

"I saw him after the battle was over, trying to make sense of what he was, but Ranma is very much alive at the moment."

Nodoka sniffled, "Just what do you mean?"

Cologne smirked a bit, "I said I saw him after the battle, in fact I met up with him, and I gave him a scroll to teleport himself to a place called Jade."

Nodoka backed up in shock, "He's in Jade? With the other werecats?"

Cologne raised an eyebrow at her, "I see that you know of what your son is. But I do not. Just what type of werecat is he?"

Nodoka smirked, at odds with her teary face. "Well, he's a cross between this." She then shifted into hybrid form, stretching her kimono to the max. And Cologne blinked in shock at the sight of Nodoka being a werecheetah, but before she could say anything, Nodoka continued, "And the rarest of all werecats, a were smilodon, or saber tooth weretiger if you will."

Cologne was in pure shock, "So, then Genma isn't Ranma's real father then?" Nodoka shook her head, and Cologne laughed, "Ha! At least Ranma doesn't have to worry about polluting the gene pool if he ever has kids." They shared a laugh at that. Cologne grew somber after a moment, "I'm afraid I don't know what a sabre toothed weretiger is, just what is it's strengths?"

Nodoka smiled, albeit a bit sadly. "Well, you see, a were smilodon is the strongest of all werecreatures. Stronger than a werewolf and werelion combined."

Cologne's eyes widened, "Holy! Now that's strong!" Seeing Nodoka raise an eyebrow, she continued, "You see the Musk Dynasty is modeled after werecreatures, they used to dunk animals into the girl spring, lock them and then force them to have children, anyways, the tiger men have always had incredible physical strength and one time I watched a tiger man fight a werewolf when I was only sixty." Cologne shook her head, "The werewolf proved to be much stronger and tougher and then beat the tiger man into unconsciousness."

Nodoka nodded her head and frowned at the mention of a werewolf. "Yes, but the werewolves killed all the were cheetahs as far as I know." She shook her head, "The only reason I'm alive is because I decided to take a trip a few days before my people went to meet the werewolves." She shook her head, "Let's go inside, I don't want anyone else to listen."

Cologne nodded, "Yes, and perhaps you should get some clothes that will fit you better." She laughed a bit when Nodoka flushed.

 **by Red Priest of the 17th Order**

Nabiki groaned in despair as she walked through the wrecked district with two of her associates/lackeys, Kikuko and Ryonami. Nabiki had made a point to make sure she could find everyone that she could that had worked for her, to make sure that everyone was alright, gathering her associates together to make sure everyone was all right.

After all, Nabiki did not want to stay at 'home' for the moment. There was nothing left of the Tendo compound and Dojo, it having all been blasted to ash. Still, while her family had made it out, they were all devastated mentally.

Her father had truly become a mere shell of a human being. He was a listless wreck, not moving, or even reacting much to what was going on around him. Nabiki couldn't help but compare his current state to that of him when her mother had died. Soun would more or less be useless to anyone for quite sometime to come, the sheer shock at what has occurred having drained him of all will to live.

Nabiki frowned as she thought of her father's state of being as she continued to walk. That bastard, Genma, had literally high-tailed it out of there as soon as the Dojo was obliterated. He didn't try to help fight back. He didn't try to help anyone to safety. The fat panda just ran.

Then there was Nabiki's elder sister, Kasumi. Much to Nabiki's sadness, surprise, disbelief, and a bit of anger, Kasumi had, surprisingly, degraded to a state similar to their father. The only exception was that she did realize what was going on around her, and managed to say a few things now and again when someone spoke directly to her. But otherwise, the dutiful Tendo daughter was 'out of it'.

And then there was Akane. The poor girl had become hysterical to the point of near-loonacy. She had been completely angered when Saffron had come, and wanted to fight back. But seeing all the destruction around her, and witnessing Ranma... 'Change' into some sort of beast himself, and then DIE while taking the Phoenix God with him... Akane just lost it. She was taken to a hospital, where the doctors and staff will, hopefully, be able to calm her down.

"Ranma... Just what the hell were you..." Nabiki grumbled to herself, enough so that her 'business associates could hear her, but were smart enough to keep their mouths shut. Nabiki couldn't understand what had happened. Ranma had turned into some sort of cat-like beast. "Was it an after-effect of the Neko-Ken, or... Was it something more?" Nabiki asked herself, racking her brain for answers. But she had no clue as to what could have caused such a change in Ranma.

Still, even with all that happened to her, Nabiki knew that her partners were dragged down into this deeply as well. Kikuko's home had been destroyed, but luckily, her family and she were all right. Ryonami's home was in the Western half of Nerima and escaped the carnage brought forth by the fiery phoenix... Although, it seemed that her older sister, who was at a community college was still missing, and quite possibly dead.

"Alright ladies... We don't have to worry about Hiroko, she was out of the country when this happened." Nabiki said calmly, although it was going to be quite a feat getting in contact with the girl and telling her that her home was now missing the top floor. "But still, we have to account for Asami's disappearance."

"Yes, Nabiki-san." Both girls drolled out. They were pretty happy to act like sheep. In these very chaotic times, Nabiki appeared as one to bring order... Something both women needed desperately.

And soon, much too-soon, Nabiki and her crew reached Asami's home... Or at least, the area that would have held her home. There was nothing but literally, a huge crater that was still steaming, and a bit of rubble, which was practically melting...

"Oh dear God..." Nabiki muttered.

"Asami..." Kikuko breathed out.

"This can't be happening..." Ryonami sobbed.

Nabiki leaned against the wooden barriers that the police had set up around the crater. It's obvious that anything in this area had not survived. "Damn it..." The middle Tendo sister grumbled. This was just too much shit to handle.

Ryonami mustered the courage to tap Nabiki on the shoulder. "Boss, what are we going to do?"

Nabiki sighed. "I need time to think... For at the moment, I have no clue."

Kikuko and Ryonami slumped their shoulders. This was bad. Very bad.

"Excuse me, ladies!" Came a voice. All three women turned their head to the sight. A man in a dark Italian suit, looked as though he were a definite foreigner. He wore dark shades so that one couldn't look at his eyes. "May I ask if you were here when the 'attack' happened?"

"And if we were?" Nabiki asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Then I would like to ask you a few questions." The 'man' answered. "As well as pay you for your help."

Nabiki raised the other eyebrow now. Now was not a time to look a gift-horse in the mouth.

 **by Philip Weigel**

Moe and Larry were just lounging about waiting for Curly to wake up. They had helped several members of their gang recover from the savage mauling they had received. Joe was walking bow-legged, that Werecat had nearly crushed his family jewels to nothingness and Shep was sitting on a pile of towels and sheets and getting them bloody. Moe sighed, "I still don't know how that werecat put Shep's staff up his $$."

Larry nodded, a bit green after seeing that. "I know."

It was at this moment that Curly finally started waking up. "Uuuh." He glanced around, seeing that everyone was, more-or-less alright he started chuckling.

Moe blinked, "Uh, Curly? What's wrong?"

Curly just laughed, "I had the craziest dream."

Larry raised an eyebrow, "Oh, what?"

"Where we were about to take out an Edge Guard group when a black and gold Werecat came and beat us. Isn't that funny?!"

Moe grimaced, he didn't know how his brother was going to take this. "Um, that actually happened Bro."

Curly blinked, "Say what?"

Moe nodded, "Yeah it did. Joe's jewels got crushed by that Werecat and Shep had his staff shoved up his $$."

Curly stared, thought about what had happened and started growling out loud. An interesting sound from a human. "Damn that Demonic Werecat!" He stood up, looked straight up and pointed a finger to the sky I SHALL HAVE MY REVENGE!" Since the sun was setting right behind him it looked damn impressive.

Moe nodded, "Nice. But still, how are we going to get revenge?"

Larry frowned, "Yeah, no kidding. He was a _lot_ better a fighter than those Edge Guard were." He neglected to remember that Curly had hit three of them with a magic attack and had caught them by surprise.

Curly sulked, pulled down his hand and started pacing back and forth for several minutes. He blinked a few times, "I've got it!"

"Huh?"

"What?" His two brothers asked at the same time.

"To get back at that Werecat we'll have to lay a trap for him and then catch him when his guard is down."

Larry and Moe blinked, "Lay a trap?" They asked in weird synchronization.

Curly nodded, "Yeah, we follow him around a bit, find out where he goes all the time, then lay a trap for him to fall in and get caught in. It's brilliant! Nothing can go wrong!"

Famous last words Curly.

Back in Nerima. . .

The 'man' thanked Nabiki for the information about the fight and who had been fighting the Phoenix. He handed her a card. "You shall be paid in full for this information. The address where you can pick up the money is on the card."

Nabiki took the card, read it and blinked when she saw the address. "That's near the pumping station that's at the edge of the district."

The 'man' nodded and said his goodbyes and left. While he was walking away he kept going over what had been told to him. The person who fought the Phoenix had never shown himself to be a Werecat before, at least, that's what he had gathered anyways, and he was one of the, if not the, best fighter in the area. But what the kid had done had placed a healthy bit of respect in him for the fighter. The fighter was trying to lead the Phoenix away from the area before he caused serious damages and death, and in the end he had sacrificed himself to protect those he cared about. Self-sacrifice was something all Wererats could respect, regardless of who it was that did it.

Across town. . .

Nodoka, back in human form, nodded at Cologne. "I thank you for the information on my son Elder."

Cologne nodded back at her, "No problem. I figured you should've been the first to know about him." With that she bounded over the outer wall of the Saotome Home and away.

Nodoka sighed, "At least my son is all right." She then smiled, "I wonder if my manly son has met any good looking female Werecats yet?" She then sighed and clasped her hands together on the right side of her face, just below her chin, and tilted her head slightly and got a picture in her head about a lot of chibi-Ranma's running around with various Werecat features. "Oooh they'd be so kawaii." Anyone who knew Nodoka would not disturb her at this moment.

Back on Jade. . .

Ranma shook his head, "Damn, that's the fiftieth time I've sneezed, I swear someone is thinking about me."

Thropan shook his head, he had to admit that the kid was unique. "Well, we're almost to Seer's Hamlet. How are you two holding up? Gar? Sheila?"

Gar waved, "I'm fine, but don't expect me to be able to run or do any fighting for awhile." He started to remove his arm from around Ranma's shoulder, but the instant he put any pressure on his injured leg, he closed his eyes and grimaced. "Argh! Guess not!" He then placed his arm around Ranma's shoulder again.

Sheila shook her head, "My stomach still hurts. That fireball that hit us originally was pretty strong. And then I used up most of my energy trying to stop the next attack." She then frowned, "Stupid jerk."

Ranma looked over towards Tirga. "Hey, how come you're not hurt?"

Tirga frowned, "Actually I am. (Both physically and mentally.) It's just that I shouldn't have even gotten hurt from that fireball. Magical fire isn't supposed to harm me."

Thropan shook his head, "Not exactly. When your weapon is out, it absorbs magical fire and it makes you more resistant to fire damages as well as helps you heal from them. But if it's not out, then you're as vulnerable as any of the rest of us. Though you heal quite a bit faster."

Tirga looked at him, "You're kidding?! Why didn't you tell me?"

Thropan shrugged, "You never asked."

Ranma chuckled. That Tirga guy reminded him of some the Nerima crew. They'd use something, know it's strengths, but none of its weaknesses.

Sheila blinked at him, "What's so funny?"

Ranma shook his head, "Nothing really, that Tirga guy reminded me of some of the. .folks. .back. .home." He then sighed, 'How many of them died because of that jerk Saffron?'

Tirga winced, "Hey, sorry about that. Didn't mean to drag up bad memories." Sure he was a happy-go-lucky kinda guy that lived life for the moment, but he had his share of bad experiences in life, one of the more notable ones was when his mentor Gaja was killed by G'Nolga. That had been a sad day for everyone, and none of them liked to remember it. There were other instances as well, but Gaja's death stood out most prevalently.

Ranma just shook his head and buried his feelings, "It's alright. You didn't mean it."

Oloni frowned as he walked behind the group. That new kid was bottling up his emotions, not a good thing. And it seemed to be an ingrained response, considering how fast he had changed from being depressed to being almost normal again. 'This bears looking into.'

They reached Seer's Hamlet a few minutes of compatible silence later. Ranma blinked as he looked around, slowing his pace a bit to take in the sites. He had never seen so many magical creatures before or in the same place. 'And considering what I've gone through, that's saying something.' He wasn't naive enough to think that he had seen it all, but when living in Nerima, one tends to think that there isn't much more out there to see. He blinked when he saw people stopping to stare at the group, no, they were staring at him. "Um, why are they looking at me like that?"

Sheila smirked as she moved a bit to get the blood flowing in her arm again, it had fallen asleep while she was being carried. "Two reasons actually. One, they've never seen a Werecat like you before."

Ranma nodded while looking down at her, "Okay."

"The second thing is is that you're carrying a member of the Edge Guard in your arms and another Edge Guard member is using you to support himself." She didn't feel like telling him that Gar had been trained by the Armsmaster of Jade and was considered one of the best fighters that wasn't a Weapons Master, and the fact that this group was rather famous in Seer's Hamlet, so seeing them like this would cause people to stare.

Ranma didn't know what it meant to be a member of the Edge Guard, but he had the feeling that they were good fighters. He quickly glanced at Thropan and Oloni, them being the least injured and noticed what he hadn't been looking for before, that they were indeed fighters of some skill, better than most actually, with the way they handled themselves. He watched and blinked when he saw people start shrinking away from him. "I wonder what their problem is?" He muttered to himself.

Gar looked at him, being a Jagwere meant that he could hear an ant marching from a mile away if he wanted to, combined with such close proximity allowed him to pick-up what had been said easily. "They're kinda nervous. You see, you're a Werecheetah, a rare species, but you're also as tall as a Werelion, just a bit slimmer, and then there's your teeth. Frankly, they don't know what to make of you."

Ranma nodded, he didn't like people being afraid of him. If he knew how to, he'd switch to either a pure Werecheetah hybrid or a pure Were Smilodon hybrid form and quit scaring everyone. Oloni then walked to the front of the group. "Here Ranma, I'll take Gar off of your shoulders so that you can get to Nali's Clinic."

Ranma shrugged, "Sure." Gar got let go of Ranma and Oloni caught him before he hit the ground.

Oloni nodded at Ranma and then placed Gar on his shoulders in a fireman's carry and started climbing the rope ladder up to Nali's Clinic. Tirga followed him, then Thropan went next and Ranma followed last. The only reason it took him so long was that he had to adjust his hold on Sheila a bit, without it looking perverted, so that he could climb the ladder. Ranma had one arm around Sheila's waist, while she had her arms around his neck, her head was looking over his shoulder as he ascended the ladder to the clinic.

Once they got to the top, Oloni motioned Ranma to take Sheila inside, "Um, are you sure it'll be alright?"

Oloni chuckled, "Don't worry Ranma. Nali is one of the best healers around."

 **by Red Priest of the 17th Order**

In Seer's Hamlet, there existed a well-known Healer's Clinic. The Healer Nali was well-known to all the people's of Seer's Hamlet. It didn't matter who you were, what your standing in society was, or how much money you could pay. The Healing Mage, Nali, would do whatever she could to help those in need of her assistance.

And currently at her office and home, Nali was taking care of a patient. A Lycanthrope who had come into her office with some rather nasty silver burns.

Kneeling down as she rubbed a special salve onto the werecheetah leg to take care of the silver burns, Nali sighed and looked at him. "You know, Raphiel, you really should be more careful when it comes to disposing of silver weaponry."

The werecheetah, Raphiel blushed a bit and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, yeah, I know... I kinda lost balance because I was trying to carry too much tuff at once, and had the stuff literally crash down at my feet."

Chuckling a little, Nali rubbed the salve into Raphiel's shin thoroughly. "Perhaps you shouldn't be in such a hurry to do your work then." She suggested to the rather light-hearted werecheetah/advanced golem.

Raphiel smiled and nodded his head. "Yeah, you're right, Nali. I know I should have been more careful, but I just wanted to make sure I had my job done before the other got back, and had those nasty weapons disposed of." Raphiel sighed a bit. "I was hoping they'd take me on a mission soon."

Nali smiled warmly as she wrapped a bandage around Raphiel's leg. "Now Raphiel, you should know that rushing through your work can come off to others as to show you being impatient and immature. Both are characteristics unfitting members of the Edge Guard."

Flattening his ears back, Raphiel apologized to the healer. "Sorry, Nali..."

Nali couldn't help but laugh lightly at the werecheetah naive nature and almost child-like innocence. "It's okay, Raphiel. Just make sure to take your time when doing your work, and to be more careful from now on."

"I will!" Raphiel said brightly, already out of his saddened state.

Finishing up with wrapping a bandage around his shin, Nali stood back up and looked at Raphiel. "It will be all right for you to stand now."

Hearing that, Raphiel sat up from the chair wooden chair he was sitting in. He stood on his feet, and was relieved when he didn't feel any pain from the pressure he had on his burned leg. "WOW! I feel okay! Thanks, Nali!"

Nali giggled a little and smiled. "Anytime. And for being a good patient, I'll give you a lollipop." Yeah, it sounded corny to say that to someone who looked like an adult, but seeing Raphiel's eyes widen and sparkle, she knew she made the right comment.

"Do you have any cherry-flavored ones?" Raphiel asked, his eyes wide and bright, sparkling with a mixture of hope and joy.

"I'll see what I have." Nali said. "Wait right here." She commanded as she opened a door and left the room to check on her storage.

Raphiel sat down in a chair, grinning widely. "Mmm... Cherry..."

However, his ears perked up as he heard another door open. He turned his head and saw his teammates, practically limping into the office. "Oh, hey guys!"

They stopped in their tracks. "Raphiel?" Onoli asked. "What are you doing here?"

Raphiel shrugged his shoulders. "Silver burn..." His eyes then widened as he concentrated on the werecat carrying Sheila. "WOW! Are you a werecheetah like me? You're pretty big! Oh, what's with the teeth? They dentures or something?"

Ranma's left eye twitched a bit. He looked down at Sheila in his arms. "That's a werecheetah?"

Sheila chuckled nervously. "Eh heh... They're not all bad, you know..."

Ranma sighed, but accepted that answer from Sheila. "All right."

"Hey, Raph." Gar said, while still leaning against Ranma. "You all right?"

"I'm fine, but what happened to you guys?" Raphiel asked.

"The bandits were prepared for us." Onoli said seriously. He looked over at Ranma and said, "Fortunately, Ranma here had interrupted the fight, and turned the odds over to our favor."

"Ah! Ranma eh?" Raphiel asked as he walked over to the Sabre Toothed werecheetah. "I'm Raphiel Rey! Pleased to meet ya'! Thanks for helping my friends."

Ranma smiled a little. This werecheetah seemed a little 'slow' mentally, but he seemed to have a heart of gold. "Ranma Saotome. Pleased to meetcha."

It was then a door creaked as open and Nali stepped out, holding a wrapped lollipop in her hand. "You're in luck, Raphiel. I did indeed have cherry... Flavored... And..." The Healing Mage trailed off as she looked at the gathered group of battered Edge Guard, and in the center was something akin to a werecheetah... But the black fur, and those fangs... Those dangerous-looking fangs.

A few flashes of memories from nali's childhood, as she was the only person to realize a bit of the truth behind what Ranma was. "Sabre Toothed?" She asked, before she literally fainted from the overwhelming feelings and fell over onto the ground.

"NALI!" "MY LOLIPOP!"

 **by Philip Weigel**

Thropan quickly made his way to Nali and checked her over, "She's alright, just fainted." He frowned, "I don't know why though." He turned to Tirga, "Help me put her on the bed over there until she wakes up.

Tirga nodded, if there was one thing he didn't want to do was get on Nali's bad side if he molested her, she may not treat him next time he got hurt. He helped pick her up and carried her over to the bed in the room.

Oloni looked at Ranma, "Here, I'll take Gar." Both Ranma and Gar nodded, Gar then slid off of Ranma's shoulder and Oloni caught him and took him over to some chairs. "Just stay here until Nali wakes up and heals you."

Gar just nodded while thinking, 'Can't believe I got hurt so badly.'

"Don't worry about it Gar."

Gar looked up, "Oloni?"

The Werelion sighed, "You know how magic and silver affects us. And we were caught off guard, so don't worry about it so much. No one is going to think less of you for you it." Gar just nodded, it wasn't the fact that he had gotten hurt or nearly beaten that rattled and depressed him, it was the fact that he was powerless to protect his sister.

Ranma just looked at Gar a bit sympathetically, he knew the type, prideful, confident, and sure of themselves. Losing or nearly losing a match and needing help to win sucked for people like that, hell, he was like that himself. He then glanced at Raphiel and just blinked and wondered, 'Everyone says I'm some type of Werecheetah, I wonder what I'd look like?' Suddenly he found himself shifting, getting slightly shorter. "What the?"

Sheila blinked, she suddenly found herself closer to the floor, not much, but noticeable. She looked at Ranma and found that his face was now white with black eyes stripes. "Huh?"

Raphiel blinked, "Oh cool, you can change into different hybrid forms. I didn't know that that was possible."

"Huh?!" Everyone that was conscious looked at Ranma and blinked, he now looked like a Werecheetah, correct coloring and everything, lithe, though decently muscled, but his muscles weren't as big as Britanny's muscles, they seemed more dense though.

Oloni nodded to himself, "Okay that settles it. As soon as I'm healed enough I'm going to the Earth Realm to speak with the Diggers."

Tirga blinked at him, "Uh, that isn't exactly necessary Oloni. There are Archmages that live in the Hamlet that can look him over."

Oloni shook his head, "There are reasons for telling the Diggers this." He held up a finger, "One, he's from Earth like they are, which leads to," he held up a second finger, "Two, they'll want to know about a Werecheetah as they thought that Britanny was the last one in existence. There are others, but those are the most important ones."

Tirga nodded, "Right, right."

Thropan blinked at Ranma, "Just how did you do that?"

"I don't know, I was just thinking what I would look like as a correct Werecheetah and then this happened."

Thropan nodded, "Okay, concentrate on what you looked like before." Ranma shrugged and thought about it, then he shifted back into the mixed hybrid form.

It was at this moment that Nali woke up. . .

 **by Red Priest of the 17th Order**

Nali came to consciousness quickly. She still had understanding of her situation, but there was still a haze to her thought. "Oh dear, I fainted... How unprofessional..." Nali thought. However, she couldn't help but wonder WHY she had fainted. Then it came to her. "The Sabretooth!" She screamed in her mind.

Nali sat up, and realized she was on the floor, and Onoli was kneeled beside her, his hand resting behind her shoulders to help her sit up. "Hello, Nali. Are you alright? You had just fainted on us."

Without answering, Nali looked around the room quickly, noting all the Edge Guard were there, and pretty wounded. She then saw it, and pointed her finger at the fanged feline. "IT'S A SABRETOOTH! YOU ACTUALLY BROUGHT A SABRETOOTH HERE!?"

Ranma winced. Cologne had told him that people in this world would be accepting of him, but this woman was just freaking out at the mere sight of him.

Sheila frowned at seeing Ranma wince. He wasn't a bad man, and it was obvious that Nali's reaction to him was hurting the fanged were cheetah's feeling. But on that same note, WHY was Nali somewhat freaking out? That wasn't like her at all! She was about to ask what her problem was, but her brother had beaten her to the punch.

"Hey, Nali, no disrespect or anything..." Gar began, obviously puzzled by Nali's actions, if the expression of confusion on his face was any indication. "But why the nine hells are you freaking out because of Ranma?"

Nali blinked her eyes. "R, Ranma?"

Ranma managed to smile, albeit nervously. "That's my name. Don't wear it out." Seeing Nali shiver, Ranma chuckled nervously.

Onoli sighed. "Nali, please, this is highly unlike you. What is wrong?"

Rubbing the temples of her head in frustration, Nali sighed. "You don't realize what he is, do you?"

"Actually, we were hoping you could answer that." Onoli said.

"From what I know, I'm some kind of werecheetah." Ranma commented.

"What?" Nali asked. "Some kind of werecheetah?" She looked Ranma over, and took more of his features into account. She realized that he has eye-stripes. And his fur, while not striped, or fully black had the gold and spots of a werecheetah. If anything, it was as he said. He did look more like a werecheetah than a were smilodon.

Nali shivered slightly. She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I jumped to conclusions. Your fangs kind of set me off balance."

"My fangs?" Ranma asked.

"Yes." Nali admitted. "I've only known of one breed of werecat to have a set of teeth like that. And they're not all that pleasant."

"What breed am I?" Ranma asked very curious.

Nali sighed. She stood up from the floor, with Onoli's help. She rubbed at the temples of her head again. This seemed to be a VERY uncomfortable subject for the Healing Mage to talk about. "There was a rare breed of werecat, that supposedly didn't survive past the Age of Magic. They were the Sabretooth Tiger Clan."

"Sabretooth Tiger Clan?" The Edge Guard, and Ranma repeated.

"Yes." Nali said. "It was known that Iceron experimented with MANY kinds of animals before settling on certain classes of Lycanthropes to produce. One class of werecat made were were smilodon fatalis. Of, more commonly known as, the sabretooth weretiger." Nali sighed. "These brutes were the strongest of all the Lycanthrope, said to be even greater than the werelions and werewolves... They were also known to be the most brutal."

Shrugging her shoulders, Nali continued. "Still, for all their ferociousness and power, they were naturally a small clan, and were said to have eventually died off. The last known group was said to have been in China, before the Age of Magic came to a close."

"And you think Ranma is a sabretooth weretiger?" Sheila asked in surprise.

Nali nodded her head. "Yes, as besides the were smilodons, NO species of werecats have 'fangs' like that!" Nali did relent a little. "However, you did bring up a point. He seems to appear to be just as much a werecheetah, as he does a were smilodon."

"Well, Ranma can change into a full werecheetah." Sheila said in Ranma's defense.

"What? He can?" Nali asked in surprise.

"Really!" Raphiel said. "He looked like me!"

"Yeah. Show her, Ranma!" Sheila said.

Ranma shrugged, but did as asked. He changed once more to his werecheetah form, causing Nali's jaw to drop. "What do you think, Miss Nali?"

Nali blinked her eyes once, then twice. She shook her head in disbelief. "Another werecheetah... Hmm..." Nali narrowed her eyes. "Well, I'll say this... I have NEVER seen anything like this."

"Nali, do you think you can find out how it is that Ranma can change to such forms?" Gar asked, getting into the conversation.

"Yeah! I mean, even I have to admit it's pretty cool." Tirga complimented.

Nali blinked her eyes once, then twice. She looked Ranma over. He seemed pretty okay and innocent as a werecheetah. She didn't have to deal with looking at those ferocious fangs, either. "All right. I'll see what I can do." Nali said. "This ability to mix forms sounds familiar to me. Give me time to search through my collection of books, and I'll see what I can come up with."

Ranma bowed politely. "Thank you, Nali-san." Ranma said honestly.

Sighing, nali said. "Don't mention it." She then smirked. "Now, I should get to my job. Who needs medical attention first?"

Raphiel raised his hand. "Me! I didn't get my lolipop!"

The rest of the Edge Guard, Ranma, and Nali sweat-dropped.

 **by Philip Weigel**

Onoli looked at Nali, "Can you heal me up first Nali? I'd like to go to Earth and tell Dr. Diggers about this." Nali nodded and healed him, considering that he was the least injured, it went quickly.

Onoli was about to leave when Nali spoke up again, "Actually, I don't think you'll be able to get to Earth for a week."

Ranma looked at her, "Oh, why not?"

Nali shivered, regardless of the fact that he was kind around Sheila and the others, he still made her nervous. "Because of the Solar Eclipse that's happening, oh, right now." Onoli looked outside and blinked when he saw the sky dimming for a few moments.

Onoli winced, "Well, I guess they won't know for some time then."

Ranma looked at him, he still had Sheila in his arms, considering Gar had the only bed in the room. "What do you mean?"

Sheila looked at him, "Well, you see, when there's a solar eclipse on Jade, the Ether of the Realm won't allow anything to leave for at least a week." She was tempted to just curl up in his arms and go to sleep, considering how nice it was to be held by him, it made her feel safe and warm. She didn't realize it, but she was cuddling a bit close to him, closed her eyes and started to purr a bit.

Ranma just blushed at this, he knew he'd be in trouble for this, someway, somehow, someone would blame him for being perverted, or stealing their girlfriend, or corrupting Sheila.

Thropan just smirked at him and chuckled, 'Seems life's going to be interesting, that it does.' Last time he saw Brianna, she had given him some comics about a wandering samurai with a reversed blade, it influenced his mind a little.

Onoli just blinked at the sight and shrugged. Didn't matter to him too much, just as long as it didn't hurt the team any, though he had a feeling that it would stress things a bit for a little while.

Nali just blinked at that, she then smirked, 'Seems Sheila's interested in that one. Hmm, might have to watch and see what develops.'

Tirga's left eye twitched, 'I'm going to have to start making more moves on Sheila before this new guy gets too close.'

Gar, well, he was in his over-protective brother mode. 'If it wasn't for the fact that I was hurt, I'd teach that mixed breed a thing or two.' Of course right now, he conveniently forgot that the mixed breed in front of them had saved their lives.

Raphiel, well, he was just happily sucking on his lollipop and didn't pay any attention to what was going on around him.

Nali shook her head, as amusing at it was, she needed to do her job. She took her salve, which had magical herbs and soothing lotions in it, it also helped speed up all healing for Werecats, regardless if it was silver or magical damages that they had received. She rolled up the pant leg on Gar's injured leg and started rubbing it in. Gar flinched and moved his leg back unconsciously.

"Hold still, the herbs can't take full effect with you moving like that."

"Sorry, reflex."

Nali nodded and just rubbed more salve in, when she was done, she took the bandages that were on the table near the bed and started wrapping his leg. "There you go, should only take a day or two at the most to completely recover." When she was done, she helped move him to one of the chairs in the room. "Next?" She said looking at Tirga.

"Nah, let Sheila go first. I'm healing from the damages, she got more banged up than I did though."

Ranma nodded to him, truth be told, he didn't really want to put her down, but he didn't know why exactly. He walked over to the bed and gently placed Sheila down on it. He then stepped over to where Tirga was.

"Huh, wha? Yaaawn. Sorry, dozed off for a bit there." Sheila stretched a bit and winced when she felt her body protest. "Damn, I must've been more hurt than I realized."

Nali frowned and looked her over, "Where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere."

Nali frowned and looked at everyone, "You'll all have to leave. I think Sheila would like some privacy for this."

"Oh, what for?"

Nali looked at Tirga exasperated, "Because I'm going to have to check her whole body to see where she's hurt and I don't want perverts like you making her agitated."

Tirga shrugged, "So, wouldn't be the first time I've seen her naked. And I've seen better." Everyone looked at him with narrowed eyes, save Thropan, he knew Tirga's behavior and knew that he'd be paying for it in a moment.

*WHUMP!*

'Looks like I was right and. . .where did Ranma get a steel mallet that size?'

Indeed Ranma had smacked Tirga's head into the ground with a 50 ton mallet, at least that's what the mallet said on it's side. Ranma just shrugged at all the looks he was recieving, "This is how we brain perverts, especially perverted idiots back where I'm from."

"Ouch, that hurt you know." Tirga said as he pulled himself out of the small hole.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Ranma then shrugged and walked out followed by Tirga. Thropan had already helped Gar out and Onoli had stepped out first.

 **by Red Priest of the 17th Order**

Nali helped Sheila onto her feet. She was trying hard to make this easy for the petite jagwere, but Sheila still winced a little in pain. She placed a hand on Sheila's back, between the shoulder blades and pressed down. "Does it hurt here?"

Sheila winced and nodded her head. "Yes."

Nali 'hummed a little. She placed her hand onto Sheila's shoulder, and placed her other hand onto Sheila's other shoulder. She pressed her hands down slightly. "Do your shoulders hurt?"

Sheila winded a little. "Yes."

Nali nodded her head. Moving one of her hands down, she pressed lightly on the small of Sheila's back, just above her tail. "And here?"

Sheila nodded her head. "Very."

Nodding her head again, Nali placed either hand on the side of Sheila's thighs. "Do your legs hurt?"

Sheila nodded her head again. Nali just sighed a little. "Sheila, would you please undress?"

Sheila nodded her head a little and started taking off her clothing, albeit reluctantly. She knew Nali was a professional, but Sheila was always rather sensitive about her body and looks, and it embarrassed her to let others see it.

Once Sheila was fully unclothed, Nali turned around and went to grab her jar of salve. She still had a good amount, as she had just made the batch this morning, and there was still plenty. "Sheila, hold still. I'm going to apply this salve."

"All right..." Sheila said uncertainly.

Cupping her hands, Nali picked up a bunch of the salve. She then placed the salve onto Sheila's back and began rubbing it up and down her backside, and onto the skin. "I warn you Sheila, that when we're done, you're going to be covered in bandages for awhile."

Sheila nodded her head. "Understandable. But at least my head won't have to be, right?"

"Don't worry. I can leave your head, hands and feet alone." Nali assured. "But I must advise you don't change between forms. You'll want to keep the bandages in place for awhile, so the salve settles in."

Sheila grumbled a bit, but nodded her head in understanding.

Nali blinked her eyes. A small smirk appeared on her face. "Let me guess. You wanted to show off your human form to Ranma?"

Sheila nodded her head a little. "Yeah."

Nodding her head, the small smirk on Nali's face grew. "So you like him, huh?"

Sheila's face flushed a deep shade of red. "W, whatever gave you that idea?" Sheila asked.

"Just a hunch." Nali said, the smile on her face hadn't lessened any. "I know how sensitive you are about your looks, and I think you wanted to try to show off a little for Ranma..."

Sheila's blush deepened, confirming Nali's assumptions. "It's okay, Sheila." Nali said. "It's okay to like someone. Still, don't you think liking a Sabretooth is a bit much?"

Sheila turned her head around to look at Nali. "What makes you say that? Ranma is, by far, one of the sweetest guys I've ever met."

"Seriously?" Nali asked, her hands still rubbing salve onto Sheila.

"Yes." Sheila said. "And heroic too. I was literally about to be killed and he swooped down and literally saved my bacon from the frier. He repelled that fireball and saved us all." Sheila then began to blush a little. "And he was so gentle when he carried me all the way back here. Ranma was even able to handle letting Gar hang on him while he was carrying me!"

Nali nodded her head. "Seems like a very impressive fellow."

"He is." Sheila said with a wistful sigh. "But still, how am I going to get him to see me as something besides a little kid, if I can't change to my human form?"

"Well, Sheila..." Nali began, taking a moment to choose her words carefully. "I admit, I am a bit prejudiced against Sabretooths. They are literally a 'boogeyman' in certain regions. But from what you told me about Ranma, he seems to be a decent enough a person. I don't think he'll mind getting to know you with or without a pair of breasts to catch his attention"

"Nalllllliiiiiii..." Sheila whined a little, while blushing.

"I'm serious." Nali said. "If you want to get to know him, just be yourself."

Sheila nodded her head, but that advice seemed hollow to her. She had tried to 'be herself' with different guys. All that did was just make them think her some sort of Tomboy. "I hope Ranma won't mind..."

 **by Philip Weigel**

Meanwhile outside Gar was speaking to Tirga with Thropan helping him, Onoli, Ranma, and Raphiel listened in. Onoli stood by the rope ladder, Raphiel was standing next to him and Ranma was leaning against the wall. Gar glared at Tirga, "Tigra why did you shoot off your mouth like that? You know Sheila's sensitive about her hybrid form you dummy!"

Tirga shrugged, "So? I've made comments like that before. She's never thought anything about it." Ranma started listening a bit closer to the conversation.

Gar rolled his eyes at that, "She usually kapows you for those comments."

Tirga shrugged, "Yeah? She usually ka-pows me for anything really. But I mean, seriously, she needs to lighten up some."

Gar narrowed his eyes at Tirga, "How is your teasing supposed to help lighten her mood up?"

Thropan spoke up, "Seriously man, you tend to put her down more than anything. We all know that Sheila's got a complex over her birth defect and she's sensitive about others seeing or discussing her body."

Tirga just shrugged this off, "Seriously, she should lighten up some, I've seen her naked before and teased her and she's never gotten too upset."

"Oh really?" Gar's eyes narrowed, "Where?"

Tirga shrugged, "Many times when she was taking a bath." At this moment, Sheila, wrapped up in bandages walked out at exactly the wrong moment. "She should stay in human form more often. She's sexy in human form and rather plain in hybrid form." Sheila's eyes widened as she heard that coming from Tirga. Tears started to gather in her eyes as she realized that everyone just saw her as plain and not good looking.

Tirga then blinked as he felt a shadow loom over him, he looked and saw Ranma frowning at him. "Excuse me."

Tirga blinked, "What?"

Ranma then grabbed Tirga spun him and headbutted him against the wall. The other male members of the Edge Guard winced at this, Sheila was still trying to hold back her tears.

Tirga groaned, "What's your problem?"

Ranma glared at him, "You need to have more respect for your teammate pal. Especially since she's standing right there" Ranma then pointed to Sheila, who was just about in tears. Tirga's eyes widened as he realized that she must've heard the whole thing.

But before he could speak, Sheila spoke up, "Why?" She couldn't stop the tears anymore and just let them fall. "Is that how you really feel about me?"

Tirga winced, "I, er, well. Well uh ya gotta admit your hybrid form does leave a bit to desire. ."

Onoli frowned at this, he had to make sure that the team worked together effectively, this wasn't cutting it. Ranma growled at the Weretiger and Sheila ran off with tears in her eyes, unminding of her body's protests. Ranma sneered at Tirga and went up to him and grabbed his collar and slammed him against the wall, causing Tirga's back, which was already in pain, to flare up even worse.

"What's your problem?"

Ranma snarled, "You don't have a right to ask you know. Now listen up, I'm not a gentleman myself, but you're totally out of line pal." Ranma snarled, his lips curling, somehow making his fangs seem longer and more menacing. Nali had stepped outside when Sheila did and saw the whole thing and got extremely nervous when Ranma got pissed off.

Tirga gulped and got wide-eyed at the sight, "Mommy."

Ranma growled his next words out, "A word of advice. Unless it's respectful or courteous and unless she wrongs you, THEN NEVER MAKE RUDE COMMENTS ABOUT A GIRL'S BODY!"

Ranma proceeded to lay Holy Hell upon Tirga, as he punched, kicked, and basically beat Tirga up at high speeds. Nali shivered at the sight even though Ranma was in his Cheetah form, she still remembered the fangs, 'It's exactly like that time.' Onoli, Gar, Raphiel and Thropan winced. Though Gar had to admit, he had never seen anyone, save possibly Julia, lay into someone like that in their anger.

When Ranma was done, Tirga was nothing more than a bloody pulp. "I'll admit, I've made fun of girl's looks before, but I learned my lesson, and most of the time when I made fun of their looks, it was because they hurt my feelings somehow."

Ranma just turns and storms away, intent on finding Sheila. Nali walked out to the group, hiding her demeanor as she walked to the group. "Will someone help me get this insensitive jerk into the clinic so I can heal him?"

Meanwhile Ranma was running around sniffing the air, he found that his enhanced senses benefitted him greatly. He took a whiff of the air and nodded to himself, "That's Sheila's scent, just a bit differently, must be because she's not burned up right now." Ranma followed the scent and ended up at Dragon Jaw's Inn. He shrugged and walked inside and looked around, eventually spotting Sheila at a corner table crying to herself as she ate some food. Ranma walked over to her until the barkeep, Dragen stopped him, "Hey, you shouldn't bother her, she said she wants to be alone."

Ranma looked at him, a man with wings and an horn on his head, "Don't worry, I'm a friend of Sheila's."

Dragen narrowed his eyes at him as he looked Ranma in the eyes, "Your eyes don't betray you, fine, I'll let you go over there, but cause problems and I'm kicking you out, got it?"

Ranma nodded, "Yeah, I got it." Dragen nodded and let Ranma go over to Sheila. "Hey Sheila." He said when he got over there.

 **by Red Priest of the 17th Order**

Sheila nursed her bottle of scotch as she sat down in one of the booths at the back of the Dragon's Jaw Tavern. She had ordered a small meal, a plate of stew, but she really wasn't hungry at all. Instead she just nursed her drink.

"Damn you Tirga..." Sheila thought as she took a swig. It really sucked, being small and petite as she was. She always knew that no one ever took her seriously, but this took the cake. Tirga's always insulted her before, but now... Now she knew her hybrid form, her true self, couldn't hold his interest with the petite frame and child-like looks.

Sheila went to nursing her drink again. It hurt her when she reared her head back to chug, but she didn't care. She just didn't freakin care anymore. Looking down at her untouched meal, Sheila knew that no one cared for her, so why should she care about herself? It's not like anyone would want anything to do with her anyway.

"Hey Sheila," came a male voice. Sheila looked up and saw that Ranma had come by to see her.

Sighing, Sheila looked directly at Ranma. "What do you want?"

"Sheila... Could I please sit down?" Ranma asked.

Sheila just shrugged her shoulders. "Sure why not?" However, Sheila was surprised as Ranma too the seat right next to her, instead of sitting across from her. "Ranma?"

"Yeah, Sheila?" Ranma asked.

"Why are you sitting so close?" Sheila asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, you seemed sad and alone, and I thought I'd give you company." Ranma said honestly. "As for why I'm sitting here... It just seemed right." Ranma said with a little blush.

Seeing that blush caused Sheila to smile a little. "Sorry, but I'm not much for talking."

"I understand." Ranma said. "I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry that Tirga said all those mean, nasty things about you..."

Sighing, Sheila nodded her head. "Tirga talks like that all the time. It's nothing new." She was trying to sound confident, but she was coming out as sounding monotone.

"And that I think the damned fool doesn't know what he's talking about." Ranma said.

Now hearing that made Sheila curious. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah." Ranma said. "I mean, that was just cruel on his part. From what I know, you did nothing to deserve such a brutal bout of verbal beating from that dumb bastard."

Sheila just stared at Ranma. She could see he was obviously angry at Tirga. It also gave the small jagwere a small internal thrill that he was standing up for her. She managed to smile at Ranma. "Thanks for saying such things... Even though we both know it's not true."

Ranma raised an eyebrow to that. "Excuse me?"

"Come on..." Sheila said. "You and I both know I just look like a freakin' kid..." Sighing, Sheila said, "This damn birth-defect has been a freaking curse for me all my life."

"Aw, Sheila... Don't look at it that way." Ranma said.

"And why not!?" Sheila snapped. "I've never had a damn boyfriend, no guy looks my way unless I'm in human form..." Sheila's shoulders shook a bit. "N, no one's ever wanted to care for me much. I only had my brother around while growing up, and gods damn it, I just want to know I can turn a few heads. Know I'm a woman, you know?"

Sheila sighed and shook her head at Ranma's silence. "No, you wouldn't." Sheila said. "What would a man know about wanting to feel like a woman... I just want to know that someone cares..."

"I care." Ranma said in all seriousness.

Sheila blinked and looked at Ranma. She then chuckled and shook her head. "I don't want your pity... I know you're probably just saying that because you can't bare to see me down like this."

"I'm serious." Ranma said. "Sheila, I lost a lot in the past 24 hours... My home, friends, family, my humanity, EVERYTHING. I cannot go back, no matter how much I want to."

Ranma looked at Sheila seriously. "Even though we haven't known each other for long, you're one of the best friends. I mean, you haven't tried to be mean to me, or try to intimidate me once! That's a new record for people I know, believe me." Ranma said.

Sheila was silent with that. Ranma saw her as a friend? Well, that was something. Still, she'd need to do something to catch his attention. After all, Sheila looked down upon her own hybrid form. She knew she'd have to blind-side Ranma with some 'flash' before he would try anything with her. It was the same way with all guys she met.

"Besides..." Ranma said after some time. "I can't bare to see someone as nice and cute as you feeling upset."

Now hearing that surprised Sheila a lot. "You think I'm cute."

"Very." Ranma said. "You're very pretty cat-lady."

Ranma was then surprised as Sheila literally latched her arms around him, holding tightly. He could feel his fur moisten after some time. "Sheila? You're crying?" Ranma asked.

Sheila nodded her head a little. "Just hold me... Please..."

Nodding his head, Ranma wrapped his arms around the smaller frame of Sheila. The small jagwere continued to weep lightly into his fur. Ranma just held the small girl to comfort her, realizing that her problem ran deeper than he knew.

 **by Philip Weigel**

Ranma just held on to Sheila as she cried into his chest, allowing the Jagwere to let her pain out. While he was holding her he started to rub her back, but he did it lightly as he remembered how much her body was injured and he didn't want to cause her undue pain. Though a part of him was a bit surprised that he could comfort anyone like this, oh sure, he had done so in the past to his fiancee's, but they were probably dead by now from his fight with Saffron and, 'Calm yourself Ranma, there's no need to dwell on that.'

Sheila for her part, just continued to hold on, not wanting to let go and lose the feeling of comfort that she was receiving, but she knew that it would go away soon, all feelings of comfort eventually went away for her, since no one cared for her romantically.

After a few minutes of this Ranma asked Sheila a question, "You going to be okay Sheila?"

Sheila just sniffed and shook her head, burying her face into Ranma's chest, she sniffled, "Why doesn't anyone care for me?"

Ranma blinked, "What do you mean?"

"Why is it that a woman has to have at least a C-cup to get any attention from men?" Sheila started shaking a bit, "No one thinks of me romantically, and when I try to be myself, most people think of me as a tomboy or a little kid."

Ranma hugged the distraught Jagwere to him a bit tighter, "Most men are jerks and perverts, and you shouldn't care what others think about you."

Sheila just started sobbing harder into his chest, "Besides Gar, I've had no one. Do you know what it's like growing up alone with only an older brother who's not there because he's trying to make ends meet? To be considered an outcast no matter what, not even becoming an Edge Guard has gotten me any respect."

Ranma frowned as she cried, he held her and rocked her gently as he thought about his own life. "I think I do. I think I understand you."

Sheila sniffled miserably and looked up into Ranma's eyes, "How would you know?"

Ranma gave a wane smile at her, "I know, because for most of my life, I was alone as well. Just me and pops on the road learning martial arts. I left home when I was six years old and spent the next ten years learning martial arts, I hardly had any friends whatsoever, and any I made I had to leave behind soon. I mean, I got used to it, but I was always so lonely."

Sheila was speechless, even her childhood wasn't that lonely, she hugged Ranma tighter, "I'm sorry."

Ranma shook his head and returned the hug, "Don't be, it's not your fault."

Sheila shook her head, "I shouldn't be pouring my troubles out to you, I mean, you just lost your family and everything, and here I am, pouring my troubles out to you."

"Sheila." Ranma sighed, "Sometimes, one just has to let their pain out, believe me I know.

Sheila just nodded her head and rested her face against Ranma's furry chest. "Your fur is nice and silky smooth."

Ranma blushed a bit, "Thanks, are you going to be all right?"

"I think so, but, but just don't leave. I want to keep feeling this."

Ranma nodded and let Sheila rest her head against his chest, he looked over to her unfinished stew and his mouth watered and his stomach growled. Sheila giggled at that, "You want some of my stew?"

Ranma nodded, "Please? I haven't eaten all day, I didn't even get to finish breakfast because I was savagely attacked."

"Sure."

Ranma kept one arm wrapped around Sheila, while he used his free hand to lift the small bowl up to his mouth and he guzzle it down. "Ah, thank you Sheila. I needed that."

Ranma squeezed a bit tighter, much to Sheila's discomfort, but she didn't say anything, she didn't want him to leave her. "How are you feeling Sheila?"

"Physically? I'm a bit stiff and sore. Emotionally? I'm not too sure."

Ranma frowned a bit and then picked Sheila up and placed her in his lap while he hugged her to him tightly. Sheila started relaxing against his body and started nuzzling her face to his chest. 'It's just like that time he held me when he brought me all the way back to the Hamlet.'

Ranma smiled as he felt her nuzzle his chest, he started purring unconsciously, he then blinked, 'I'm purring? Just like a c-c-feline. But then how come I'm not running away in fear?'

Sheila just smiled as she felt Ranma purring, she just closed her eyes and leaned her head against his chest. As Ranma was thinking about why he wasn't running away in fear, one of his hands, the one on the middle of Sheila's back, seems to run on automatic and runs down and starts feeling her butt.

Ranma blinked, 'Oh man, I hope she doesn't get mad at me.'

But Sheila didn't, she actually seemed to enjoy what he was doing to her, she snuggled a bit closer to Ranma and started purring. Anyone who was around the two of them from the Earth realm would've thought that there was an air conditioner going off right now. Ranma blinked and mentally shrugged, 'As long as she isn't angry at me.' He then kept up his ministrations on Sheila's rear-end.

Even though her eyes were closed, Sheila smiled cattily and started nuzzling closer to Ranma. The mixed breed started thinking, 'She's the first girl to ever enjoy me doing something perverted to her that isn't trying to get me to marry her."

The barkeep, Dragen, had watched all of this and decided that now was a good time to go over and talk to the, apparent, Werecheetah. Most people in the tavern were looking at the Werecheetah, since they were extremely rare, especially after that massacre. When he got to the table he spoke to Ranma, "I don't know how you did it, but this is the first time I've seen Sheila calm down so quickly. For that I'll give you free eats next time you come in here. As well as my own personal thanks. I hate seeing my friends upset. So you better take care of her, all right?"

Ranma just nodded his head at Dragen, "Don't worry, I never hurt my friends on purpose."

Dragen just nodded and walked back to the bar. Ranma just continued to hold Sheila, caressing her firm yet soft butt with one hand, caressing the base of her tail.

Sheila, even with her eyes closed, let off a soft purr of contentment.

 **by Philip Weigel**

Meanwhile, back at the clinic, Tirga was shirtless and lying face down as Nali rubbed some healing balm into his back. Thropan and Onoli had stayed behind to talk to Tirga, while Gar and Raphiel had taken off to see if they couldn't find Sheila instead. However Nali wasn't being very gentle at the moment.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Onoli looked at the Weretiger, "I want you to know Tirga how upset I am with you."

"Oh? OW!" Nali just raised an eyebrow as she applied healing balm, _extra_ hard.

"Ooops, I'm so sorry." She said in a sarcastic voice.

Onoli ignored Nali, "We're supposed to be a team, and your bashing Sheila like that isn't helping any."

"But I was telling the truth!"

Thropan frowned at him, "She ran off in tears man."

"Yeah? OW! Damnit Nali! Do you have to rub it in that hard?"

"Hmmm, oh I'm sorry, does it hurt?"

"YES!"

Nali raised an eyebrow, "Then imagine how Sheila must've felt when she left."

"But... I didn't hit her."

Nali shook her head, "No, you didn't. You hurt her worse."

"Huh?"

Nali sighed, "Physical wounds are easy to deal with, emotional wounds are impossible to deal with as they never fully heal."

Tirga blinked, "Huh? Just what do you mean?"

Thropan just shook his head, "You just don't get it do you?"

"Just tell me!"

Thropan sighed, "You hurt her feelings, badly, I might add. She's probably out there feeling like shit right now."

"Tirga. . ."

"Yeah? What Onoli?"

Onoli shook his head, "You've got to realize she's very sensitive, and she's always felt inferior around other females. Especially female Werecats. And. . . and she feels inferior around you, when you pay more attention to other women, instead of her." Onoli shook his head sadly, "She always feels like she doesn't belong and isn't loved, nor cared for."

Tirga thought about it and winced, "I screwed up huh?"

Nali scoffed, "That's putting it mildly."

Onoli nodded, "Tirga, you need time to think. So, I suggest you think about what you've done, while on the Night Shift for the next week."

"All night for the whole week?"

Onoli nodded and Tirga groaned, but he nodded, "I guess that's only fair."

"Very much so."

Thropan then spoke up, "I suggest, when you've had time to think about it, to appologize to Sheila." He then shook his head, "I just hope she's okay."

 **by Red Priest of the 17th Order**

Gar Silvear made haste as he moved through Seer's Hamlet. His sister had run pretty fast and had evaded him by going into the crowds. And, with all the people here, Gar could not just easily rack her scent, since it was easily being overshadowed by more than a few constant scents.

And of course, the search has been anything BUT easy. Gar had stopped at two of Sheila's regular haunts, the Brass Bone Tavern, the Eagle's Feather Inn, and he and Raphiel have been checking the marketplace constantly. But no such luck.

"Damn it..." Gar growled as he moved through the crowed, his eyes constantly moving about, focusing on as many faces as he could in his hope to find Sheila. (Which didn't seem like it would be a possibility).

"SHEILA!" Gar called out. "WHERE ARE YOU!?"

A few people turned to look at Gar, but easily shrugged it off and went back to what they were doing. Gar could see that Sheila wasn't around. "Gods damn it..." Gar began to growl again. "When I see Tirga again, I am SO going to give him a piece of my mind!"

"But Gar!" Raphiel said. "If you give him a piece of your mind, what will happen to you?"

Gar sighed in disbelief. "It's a figure of speech, Raph."

"Ah! Okay!" Raphiel said.

Gar nodded his head. He looked at Raphiel seriously. "Did you find Sheila anywhere?"

Raphiel shook his head. "Nope. I looked around the market, checked with a few fortune tellers, and asked people about Sheila, but I couldn't find her."

"Damm!" Gar growled. This was horrible. His sister was probably out there alone, crying, and feeling low as one can get.

Raphiel then continued talking. "Though, I did see Ranma feeling up some petite female Jagwere at the Dragon's Jaw Tavern, but it couldn't have been Sheila. She pounds Tirga whenever he gets fresh with her."

Gar blinked his eyes once, then twice. His left eye twitched as he looked at Raphiel. "What?"

"Yeah!" Raphiel said. "He kept feeling her butt, and both were purring loudly and.. Hey, Gar, that vein on your head looks like it's gonna burst."

"Rrrrrrraaaaaannnnnmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaaaaa..." Gar said. Oh, he was seething in anger. Well, NO ONE would take advantage of his sister as long as he was around. "C'MON, RAPH! WE'RE GOING TO THE DRAGON'S JAW!"

"Yay!" Raphiel cheered. "Are you paying?"

Gar just slapped himself on the face and grumbled at Raphiel's stupidity.

 **by Philip Weigel**

Gar stormed into the Dragon's Jaw Tavern, intent on stopping the new guy from molesting Sheila, however, when he got there, he blinked as he took in what was going on. Ranma was in his Werecheetah form, his eyes were closed and he was hugging Sheila, who was sitting in his lap, to him with one hand, while the other hand rubbed and caressed her butt.

Normally Gar would've done something to someone molesting his sister, but didn't this time when he noticed something, Sheila's eyes were closed, sure, she had tear tracks on them, but that was from what Tirga had said to her. But Sheila was smiling, her tail wagging slowly and she was purring in contentment as she hugged Ranma. Because Sheila was looking so happy Gar couldn't bring himself to be angry at Ranma. Though the two of them would 'talk' later. He went over to Dragen, with Raphiel following him. "What can I do for you two?"

Raphiel smiled, "Can I get some of that stew of yours that's good?"

"Sure. And you Gar?"

"Ale."

Dragen shrugged and went to get their orders. A couple minutes later he came back and gave them what they ordered, "That'll be 5 copper pieces total."

Gar blinked, "That was cheap." He handed over the money and Dragen took it. "Why so cheap? Normally it's at least 3 bronze pieces." Raphiel nodded, but dug into his meal.

"Simple, business has been good lately, so I can afford it just this once, besides, Sheila came in here earlier and I had a feeling that you'd show up sooner or later."

Gar nodded as he took a swig of his ale. "Yeah, Sheila ran off in tears and Raphiel and I went to look for her."

Dragen nodded, "So what happened? Did she catch Tirga doing some girl again or what?"

Gar shook his head, "It's worse, we were all at Nali's clinic, getting healed up after a surprise attack from some bandits and well, most of us had to go outside cause Sheila had to get undressed and get healed up. Tirga made a stupid comment before we went outside, Ranma, the one sitting with Sheila right now, clocked him over the head and we all went outside. I started to talk to Tirga about that and then he made a rather mean comment about how Sheila should stay in human form more often, because her hybrid form is so plain."

Dragen winced, "And Sheila came outside to hear this right?"

Gar nodded, "Yeah, she then took off in tears and was going pretty fast." He then looked at where Sheila was sitting and had to stop himself from going over there and beating that perverted mixed breed of a Werecat up for rubbing his sister's butt. "So how did this happen?"

"You mean with Sheila and that Werecheetah? What's his name?"

Raphiel spoke up, "His name is Ranma. He's a Werecheetah? I thought Nali said he was a Sabertooth."

Dragen blinked, "Huh?"

Gar shook his head, "Ranma has two different hybrid forms that we know of, that one is a Werecheetah, he has another form which switches the black and white color scheme of a Werecheetah around and he gains sharp fangs."

"Fangs? But all Werecats have fangs don't they?"

"I mean fangs that go down to his chin."

"Ah, I see."

"Anyway, how did that happen?"

"Well, Sheila came in looking a bit banged up and all depressed, she ordered a bottle of scotch and some stew and asked for a corner table and to be left alone. I gave her the first two easily enough, but not long after that Ranma came in and went over to her, I tried to stop him, but he convinced me to let him speak to Sheila. Well, then he went over to talk to Sheila and then she started crying out her pain onto his chest."

Dragen smiled a bit, "The two of them talked a bit and eventually, Ranma picked Sheila up and placed her in his lap and she seriously calmed down." Dragen shook his head, "I've never seen Sheila calm down so quickly before. So if you can, hold off your "big-brother-to-little-sister's-prospective-boyfriend" speech until later okay."

Gar blinked, "I don't know what you mean."

Dragen shook his head, "You know what I mean. I've known you for several years Gar, and I know you want your sister happy, however, you're also highly protective of her and her feelings. My advise is to you, stand back and see how this works out, be there for her if she needs comfort, but otherwise stay back and just see what happens."

Gar grumbled, but took the advise, "I can't say I will. But I'll try, for Sheila's happiness if nothing else."

Dragen nodded and looked at the Sheila and Ranma, Ranma was still feeling Sheila's butt and the two were purring just a bit louder than before. Sheila's tail was wagging back and forth in apparent happiness. "Besides, I think he's a decent enough person."

Gar nodded and continued to drink his ale.

 **by Philip Weigel**

It was evening in Atlanta and Theo and Julia were sitting down eating supper. Amazingly, Britanny, Brianna, Gina, Strype, Genn, Seance and Dao had come to eat with them as well. The girls were in a somber mood, but they had asked that Strype, Genn, Seance and Dao show up for supper as they had an announcement to make. Julia couldn't take it anymore, "Alright girls, what's wrong? You look as if someone died or something?"

The girls sighed, and Brianna pulled out a combination T.V./DVD player and set it up on the counter. Theo blinked, "What's so important that you have to show us instead of tell us?"

Gina smiled a bit, "You wouldn't believe us if we told you."

"Oh? Try me?"

"A million copies of Peachbody and Benji showed up in Japan and took over."

Everyone blinked, Julia recovered her wits first. "You're right, I don't believe you."

Gina grinned, "Good. Because I wasn't being serious."

"All set Gina." Brianna pulled out a DVD and placed it in the machine and played the media sample. "Prepare to be amazed."

Everyone watched what was being played and the first thing they saw was a bird monster of some sort. Dao blinked, "A Phoenix?"

Everyone glanced at him and Brit hit the pause button. Gina spoke up, "You know something Dao?"

Dao nodded, using one of his six hands to stroke his beard, the Djiin then spoke, "The Phoenix race is an incredibly powerful, vengeful, but rather rare breed."

Theo blinked, "Oh? I've never actually met a Phoenix in person mind you, so I'll take your word for it."

Dao nodded, "Yes, most are not that powerful, but some get really powerful, like this Phoenix that's attacking that town right now. When they're able to throw attacks around like that, then they're at the level of a God."

Seance goggled, "A God?"

Dao nodded, "Yes, a God. Not as powerful as Deities like Ra, Odin, Zeus, but still more powerful than most creatures out there."

Britanny nodded, "Yeah, well, watch what happens." She then hit play and everyone watched as the Phoenix attacked someone who was trying to get the bird to get away from the city, but the creature wasn't listening, even when the human struck him to the ground, the Phoenix just got back up and continued to fling fireballs around. Finally the human leaped at the Phoenix, but then everyone who hadn't seen it before, received a surprise as the human wasn't even human and he transformed into a Werecheetah, except for the fact that the color scheme was backwards.

Completely black, with gold spots, the Werecheetah also had fangs on his face and leaped through the Phoenix's attacks and crushed his throat with his jaws and then the two of them crashed into the canal, which was then vaporized. Brit turned off the DVD after that.

Theo couldn't believe it, "A Werecheetah? Still alive?" He thought he had failed to save any but Britanny, suddenly another one shows up and then he dies.

Julia shook her head, 'What a way to go.'

Dao hummed, "A Werecat that can fight a Phoenix evenly, he must've been extremely powerful."

The girls remained silent, they had seen this before.

Genn couldn't believe her eyes, that fight had been incredible, that Werecat had fought most of the battle in human form and was even able to land blows on the Phoenix.

Seance was in a similar state of mind.

Strype hummed, "Did they find the body?"

Britanny shook her head, "No muffin, they didn't. But nothing, not even a Lycanthrope could've survived that." Britanny didn't know just how wrong she was.

Just then Strype's cell phone rang. Strype blinked and answered it, "Hello? Oh hi boss. Yes he's here. How'd you know we'd all be eating dinner together? Right, right." He pulled the phone away from his ear and handed it to Theo, "It's for you Dr. Diggers."

Theo nodded and put the phone up to his ear, "Hello? Agent M, how are you? What? Oh, I just found out myself, saw a recording of it. Same to you." Theo then handed the phone back to Strype, "Agent M just called to tell me about what we just saw."

Everyone nodded, Britanny spoke up, "I know this may sound a bit heartless, but there's no use dwelling on what happened."

Everyone nodded.

Meanwhile in Nerima, the Wererat agents had gathered the information about the individuals that had partook in the fight and had compiled the data and was ready to send it to Gothwrain.

Lee looked at Helen, "Are you sure that it's correct?"

Helen nodded, "Yep, we put down all the information we could."

Lee nodded, "Then let's go." The Wererat agents all nodded and left the district.

Helen looked at Lee as they left, "I'm rather surprised that less than 150 people died from that attack."

Lee nodded, "I know, seems they have a good rescue system there in Nerima and most everyone knows how to handle themselves in a crisis.

Helen hummed, "Yeah, and most of the people that died, died in the first attack."

Lee nodded at that.

 **by Philip Weigel**

Ranma blinked as he opened his eyes and he took a look around, first thing he noticed was the fact that he and Sheila were purring, and rather loudly at that, second thing he noticed was that his hand still was rubbing and caressing her fleshy bottom. He looked around and noticed that the place wasn't as crowded as it was when he came in, Ranma mentally groaned, 'Great, we've been here so long that it's gotten fairly late, well, I better take Sheila home.'

Ranma shook Sheila lightly so that he could wake her up, Sheila just mumbled something and snuggled closer to him. Ranma sighed and leaned his head close to her ear to whisper to her, "Say Sheila?"

Sheila cracked one of her eyes open and looked up a bit, at first she was confused as to why she felt so comfortable, but then she realized that she was leaning against someone who was holding her close. She blinked a bit when she saw a male Were Cheetah's face that wasn't Raphiel's, but then she remembered Ranma, she spoke softly, "Hmm? What?"

Ranma smiled a little at her, "Hey, it's getting' pretty late, how about I walk you home?"

Sheila closed her eye and nuzzled her face on Ranma's chest, as well as snuggled closer, "Can't, too tired, and you're comfy."

Ranma sighed a bit, "How about I carry you home then?"

Sheila nodded and dozed off against Ranma's chest. Ranma sighed as he picked her up, using his arm that wasn't holding her to support the middle of her back, his other arm, that was supporting her already, went to supporting her shoulders, Sheila just continued to rest her head on his chest. Ranma stood up and then blinked as he realized that he didn't know where she lived, he then just shrugged, "I'll ask that guy who tried to stop me from talking to her, he'll prolly know where she lives."

Ranma walked up to the counter and blinked when he saw Raphiel and Gar there as well, "Hey guys." He called out softly, so he didn't wake Sheila up.

Raphiel waved at him, his mouth was full at the moment, so he didn't say anything. Gar nodded, "Hello. What are you doing right now?"

Ranma blinked, "Well, I was going to take Sheila to her home, but then I realized that I don't know where she lives."

Gar shook his head, "I can take you, I'm her brother and I live there as well."

Dragen looked at Gar and whispered to him in a tone set for Jagwere hearing, "Remember what I said to you."

Gar whispered back to Dragen, "I know, I'm just going to speak a little with him is all, nothing too bad." He then spoke to Raphiel, "You going to be okay?"

Raphiel nodded, "Yeah, I can make my way home from here."

Gar nodded and stood up walking outside, Ranma followed him. They walked down the road a bit in compatible silence, finally Gar broke it, "Thanks."

"For what?"

"For calming my sister down. You don't know how hard that is when she gets that upset."

Ranma blinked, "I guess."

Gar shook his head and sighed, "I guess you should know, Sheila, well, she was born with a rare Werecat birth defect."

Ranma blinked, "Hmm, Sheila mentioned something like that, not that I know what she was really talking about." He then looked at the petite Jagwere in his arms, "I don't see no defect to her. I mean, she's not missing a limb or anything, does she have a bad sense of direction or bad eyesight or something?"

Gar looked at him, "You don't know?"

"Know what?"

Gar sighed, "Look at her body, notice how small and child-like it is?"

Ranma looked at Sheila again, "So? She's short, cute and petite."

Gar shook his head, "All right, I'll just come out and tell you, Sheila's hybrid form is what she should be in human form, while her human form has all the size, strength, stamina, endurance and build that her hybrid form has. Though because she has that small a body she does get hyper regeneration abilities."

Ranma blinked, "So that's what Sheila and Tirga were talking about then. But Sheila said she never even had a boyfriend, why not?"

Gar sighed, "Look, the only reason I'm telling you this is because I think you should know okay. The real problem is, is that most people don't want to have anything to do with Sheila because they don't want their kids to have that birth defect."

Ranma blinked, "Oh now that's just plain stupid."

"Huh?"

"You said it yourself, her so-called birth defect is rare, there's a good chance that any kids she has won't have it. And besides," Ranma looked at her, "It's not the body that matters, it's the person. I've known a lot of good looking people, and plenty of them have a personality of a rampaging demon."

Gar looked at Ranma as he continued, "I really don't care what a person looks like physically, it's what they're like on the inside that counts. Hell, Sheila's the first person I ever met that was kind to me right off the bat that didn't turn around and smack me for some stupid reason. Everyone else I ever met was rather mean to me at one point, even my own parents."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, well, you see my old man was my martial arts instructor, and everyday he had me go through the most insane training known. If I showed any weakness or unwillingness to the training he'd berate me and beat me down over it. Then there was my mother, the first time I met her, we didn't know each other. The second time we met, well, she stormed in waving a contract about how I'd be a man among men or commit seppuku."

"Seppuku?"

"Ritual suicide. Because of a. . .condition I had, I didn't think I could fulfil it for her and had to hide from her in plain sight. Later I found out that she didn't care about it and dropped the contract."

Gar blinked, "You've had an interesting life I guess."

Ranma nodded, "Yeah."

"Well, this is our home."

Ranma blinked as he looked at it, "Hey! This is a decent sized house, must've cost a fortune."

Gar smirked, "Wasn't too bad." He walked into the house, Ranma following, Gar pointed to a hallway, "Down that hall, the second door on your left is Sheila's room."

"Thanks." Ranma started to walk off.

"Say Ranma?"

Ranma stopped and turned to look at the Jagwere, "Yeah?"

"I suppose you don't have a place to stay? Nor any money, correct?" Seeing Ranma nod, Gar continued, "So I'll be a nice guy and let you stay a bit, at least until you find your own place to live."

Ranma smiled, "Thanks." He then walked off to put Sheila to bed.

Gar shook his head, "Anytime."

 **by Red Priest of the 17th Order**

Evening was starting to fall upon the East Continent of Jade. The moon shone high in the air as stars twinkled all about. A rather nice evening when one thought about it.

On the outskirts of the Seer's Desert, under the moonlight, the remnants of the Great Stooges Gang were preparing for their next plan; their revenge upon the members of the Northern Edge Guard.

They were digging a hole...

"Uh... Hey, Curly." Larry said as he continued to use his pick-axe on some of the harder bedrock. "Why are we digging a hole again?"

"Because, these Edge Guard are going to have an idea on how we work, so we have to hit them with something they wouldn't expect." Curly said.

"And that's why we're digging a hole?" Larry asked.

"Of course!" Curly said. "We'll dig this hole deep enough, and then use camouflage to hide it. We'll lead them here and they'll fall in! And then we'll seal this hole with a boulder and trap them! THEY'LL NEVER BOTHER US AGAIN!"

Larry blinked his eyes. "Uh... Are you sure this is gonna work?"

"Of course!" Curly said. "It's fool-proof! MUAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAANYUK, NYUK, NYUK!"

Moe, who was shovelling all this time, turned his head towards his brothers. "Hey, you two! Less talking, more shovelling!"

"Oh, I'll shovel, all right." Larry said. "You just gotta get Curly to do his part."

"NYUK, NYUK, NYUK, NYUK-"

*WHAM*!

"OW!" Curly said as he held onto his face. "You broke by dose! What was dat for?" Curly screeched as he looked at Moe. "Are you trying' ta ruin by fase?"

Lowering his shovel with the Curly-face imprint Moe said, "Ah, quit your bellyaching, chowder-head! I have to say this is the stupidest plan yet." He then smirked. "Besides, I probably fixed your ugly-mug a little."

"Heh heh! He's got ya there, Curly!" Larry said as he laughed.

Hearing that, Curly growled. "Oh, a wise-guy, eh?" Not waiting for Larry to answer, Curly poked his brother in the eyes.

"WOO, WOO, WOO, WOO!" Larry said as he covered his eyes. he kicked out to hit Curly...

And his Moe in the shin instead.

"OW! You dunderhead! Why I oughtta..." Moe lifted his shovel again, and a fight broke out between the three brothers...

 **by Philip Weigel**

Rook frowned, as well as he could, considering that no one could see his face outside of his eyes, "Hmm, just how am I going to get revenge hmm? HANZO!"

"It's Hanza you prick!" Said the man-turned-woman as she walked in and glared at Rook.

"Whatever HanzO. I got a job for you."

Hanza rolled her eyes, "Yeah, what?"

Rook looked at her, "There's a new male Werecat in Seer's Hamlet."

"Yeah, so?"

"Truthfully, I've never seen one like this one before."

Hanza blink-blinked, "Wait, you mean you, a high ranking Undead Knight has never seen a Werecat like this one before?"

Rook nodded, "Yes, I want you to go to Seer's Hamlet and find out what you can about him, he seems to be taking a liking to someone we both want revenge on."

Hanza's face darkened, "Sheila." Seeing Rook nod, Hanza balled up a hand into a fist and shook, Sheila had frozen Rook, who was then shattered, and it took him a lot of energy to pull himself back together. Because of Sheila, Hanza drank a potion which turned her from a guy into a woman. She looked at Rook, "One question, did the potion I slipped those two Edge Guard work?"

"You mean Gar and Tirga? Yes. Gar happens to act a LOT more protective of Sheila than he normally would, which will cause friction between the two siblings, and Tirga is acting more cold to her as well as more lecherous as of late."

Hanza grinned, "Good." She turned to leave, as she walked out the door, she looked back at Rook, "All I have to do is find out what this new Werecat is?"

Rook nodded, "Yep. He'll look a bit like a Werecheetah, but slightly different."

Hanza then smirked, "What about that gang you're using as a Cat's Paw?"

Rook shook his head, "They're good for distractions, heh, they almost managed to do our dirty work for us." Rook chuckled a bit, "That mage I hired to train one of them in magic actually did his job and the one he trained nearly killed the brat."

Hanza giggled as she walked out. Rook leaned back in his chair, scanning Seer's Hamlet and laughing at Tirga's discomfort as he had to patrol the whole night by himself, suddenly Rook's crystal ball was filled with the image of a short, though busty red-head, but her eyes glowed green, "What the?"

The image smirked, "I have a deal for you."

"Just what are you?"

"I'm a spirit you numbskull. Nevermind, you know that new Werecat? Well, you don't but I do. I want revenge on him, so how about you get me a body so that I can kill him and we'll all be happy."

Rook blinked, "Huh?"

The image sighed, "Okay, the deal is, is that I want revenge on that new Werecat, you want revenge on a girl who is close to that Werecat. I can help us both get what we want."

"How so?"

"Simple, I heard that you know of someone who can make bodies, correct?"

Rook nodded, "Yeah, her name's Array."

"Well, get her to make me a body that looks like the one you see here."

"Hmmm, why not? You think you can take this Werecat?"

The image chuckled, "I know all of his moves, not to mention that we've met before."

"Alright, I'll do it, but I need your name and how you think you'll be effective?"

"My body will be human, however, I happen to have the abilities of a Werecat and the essence of a demon."

"Hold up, I think that any mage will be able to tell that you're not human if you have that essence."

"Don't worry about it, I can conceal my essence to anyone. As for my name, call me Ranko."

Rook waved her off, "Fine, fine, I'll get you a damn body if you think you can take out this Werecat. Though if you can, try and kill that girl he's with as well."

"No problem."

 **by Philip Weigel**

Rook looked at the image in the crystal ball, "Okay 'Ranko' just who and what are you?" The image was about to say something, but Rook held up a hand, "I know you said that you're a spirit, but you're not just one spirit, you're three in one, so what exactly are you?"

'Ranko' grinned, "Well, I gotta say, you're smarter than you look. You're right, I am three in one. The body is because two of the three that make me up happen to have used this body at one time. As for the Werecat abilities, well, that was because of a cat-ghost named, Mao Mo Lin."

Rook just looked at the image hard, "Get on with it. Just what are you?"

"Impatient aren't we? Oh well, you see, two thirds want to kill him, the other third wants to screw his brains out, truthfully, I don't really care, just as long as he's dead."

"GET ON WITH IT!"

"Yeesh! You need to lighten up some. Okay, okay. The first part of me happens to be a girl that was born from a cursed mirror that makes an almost perfect clone of someone, including their moves and memories, of that particular body."

Rook blinked, "Huh?"

"Well, if the person can shift genders, then the clone only has memories of what that person can do in that particular body, okay."

Rook nodded, "Ah! I see. So this Werecat can switch genders then?"

"Yep! Splash him with cold water and he becomes a girl, though I'm not sure how his female side would look right now."

"So, is that the only reason the clone is almost perfect?"

"Nope! The clone will try and sleep with anything of the opposite gender that has two legs."

Rook nodded slowly, "I see. What about that Ghost Cat thingy?"

'Ranko' shrugged, "As for him, well, the Werecat stopped him from getting himself a bride, as well as stopping his revenge, so he agreed to help out, that's why we've got Werecat healing, senses and physical abilities, even if they're just basic abilities and nothing super-powerful."

Rook hummed, "I see. What about that Demon essence?"

"Oh that. Well, you see, an old pervert by the name of Happosai used some sort of magical incense to split that Werecat from his cursed form in the past and he messed up and Evil Spirit Ranko was born. They defeated her and the body reunited with Ranma's."

"Ranma?"

"The new Werecat. Anyway, the three united together to get back at him in one way or another. The mirror clone just wants to screw his brains out, the other two that made me up want revenge."

Rook chuckled, "I see. Well, there's nothing wrong with revenge, just take out that female Werecat that he's hanging around and we'll call it even."

"Deal. So what are you going to do about getting me a body?"

"Give me a second here." Rook turned to one of his Undead soldiers, who was standing in front of him with a couple of Trolls. "Go and get me Array, I'm sure you know what she looks like."

The Undead looked at him, in a gravely voice he asked, "Uh, which one?"

Rook blinked, then deadpanned, "Good point." He shook his head, "Remember the version that can make bodies, get her."

The Undead nodded, causing his head to fall off. A Troll caught it and gave it back the Undead and then they all left. 'Ranko' blinked a couple of times, "Just what were those creatures?"

Rook looked at her, "One of my Undead soldiers and a couple of Trolls that I have under my service."

'Ranko' nodded, "I see."

Gar blinked and muttered to himself, "Hmm, Ranma has been gone for awhile now, it shouldn't have taken him _this_ long to put Sheila in her bed."

So saying he got up and went to Sheila's room. He opened the door and blinked when he saw that Ranma was laying on Sheila's bed with her and holding her, "Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr."

Gar started walking purposely up to the bed, but Ranma held up a hand, even with his eyes closed, "I'm not asleep just yet."

Gar frowned and hissed at him, "Why are you in Sheila's bed?"

"Easy. I tried to get her to let go of me, but I couldn't. I put her on the bed and tried to move her arms, but she started whimpering and then she hugged me tighter than before, so, what could I do huh?"

Gar scowled, "Fine. But you do anything, and I mean anything to her, I'll kill you."

Ranma chuckled, "You're not the first to make that threat, but I promise I won't do anything to her, okay?"

Gar frowned deeply, but nodded and left. As soon as he was gone, Ranma wrapped his arm back around Sheila, causing her to cuddle up to him more.

 **by Philip Weigel**

Hanza shook her head as she left Rook's castle, as soon as she was out of the castle, she used her ring and teleported all the way to Seer's Hamlet. "Still useful." She shook her head and walked down the streets, dressed in a loose fitting cloak. The ring she had was something that she had stolen from a mage a while ago. The ring had three spells in it, a Haste, teleportation and invisibility. She could either use each spell once or one spell three times. "And I just used up the last spell for the day."

Hanza shrugged, it didn't matter to her at all, in the morning the ring would be recharged and that was that. As she walked around, all she saw were the late-owls, the type of people, or in this case magical beings that you found in most major cities, and some night creatures, the type that only came out at night.

She looked around a bit and ducked behind a building as Tirga walked by, grumbling about working the late shift. As soon as he was out of sight, Hanza let out a sigh of relief at not being caught. She shook her head and started walking into the crowds again, to see if she could find information on the new Werecat that was in town when she felt something grab her, "You did not just grab me on my ass did you?"

"I did, it is kind of firm you know."

Hanza growled, spun and kicked the man who grabbed her, she wasn't too surprised to see that it was Tirga, "Stupid pervert."

Hanza turned to leave, but Tirga's voice stopped her, "Now don't be that way."

Hanza looked back at Tirga, "Why don't you stay down?"

"How can I? Especially when there's a sexy girl in the area."

Hanza growled and kicked Tirga again and started running from him. Tirga shook his head and smirked, "Heh, she's a feisty one, that's for sure." He got up and ran after her.

Hanza growled, "Why did I drug him like that?"

 **by Red Priest of the 17th Order**

Ranma relaxed on the bed with Sheila. The little jagwere had drifted off to sleep already. He could hear her breathing all right, and he could see some eye-movement from underneath her eyelids. "I wonder what she's dreaming about..." Ranma wondered to himself.

Wanting to know the time, Ranma looked around Sheila's room for a clock of some sort. He frowned upon not seeing one. "I guess she doesn't have one..." Ranma thought.

Knowing he'd probably have to depend on instinct, Ranma looked towards the window of Sheila's room to see if he could find the placement of the moon. If there was a moon, Ranma couldn't see it. What he could tell was that it was very dark out, and there were quite a couple of stars out, shining brightly.

Ranma yawned a little and stretched out his legs. He stopped as he felt Sheila squirm.

Seeing Sheila settle down, Ranma let out a sigh of relief that he hadn't woken Sheila up. He knew that she was going to need a lot of rest. She was very wounded from the attack by the Great Stooges Gang.

As Ranma saw the starlight reflecting off of Sheila's sleeping face, he smiled. She really was such a cutie. How could anyone think that she was worthless? He didn't see anything wrong with this so-called 'birth-defect'. To Ranma, this petite jagwere was the most beautiful creature he'd even laid his eyes on.

"If anything, I'm the freak..." Ranma thought with a sigh. He wasn't a 'real' werecat as far as he knew. He was changing between a bunch of forms. His species was nothing concrete. "And all because I'm a werecheetah and... What was it Nali called me? Oh yeah, a were smilodon... Sabretooth Weretiger."

Ranma let out a yawn and started to settle down again, all the while he was holding Sheila. Ranma smiled a little. "With all that's been going on, I'm surprised I haven't become a smilodon... Smilodon... Smilodon..."

And Ranma drifted off to sleep alongside Sheila. However, he began to chance. He started to become larger, gaining a more muscular frame. His fur became a complete coat of black, and the gold spots he had as a hybrid elongated into stripes, and the color changed from gold to silver. And finally, his fangs elongated to the point where they were resting on his mandibles. They didn't detract from his face though.

And so, Ranma, now a Sabretooth Tiger, slept on the same bed with a rather petite jagwere.

 **by Philip Weigel**

Array, her spellcaster version, blinked as she heard an alarm, she idly wondered what it was all about when suddenly two Trolls and an Undead creature walked up to her, "What do you want?"

The Undead looked at her and spoke, "Master Rook requires your presence."

"Now why should I help him?"

"Simple, he said so, that is why."

Array shook her head, "Nope, ain't doing it. Why does he need my help?"

"He needs you to create a body for a spirit to inhabit."

"I see. I'm still not going."

"You have to create the body for the spirit."

Array shrugged, "I'll create the body, what does the spirit look like?"

The Undead frowned as best he could, "A redheaded girl."

Array blinked, "That's it?! No other descriptions?"

The Undead nodded, "Yes, I suck at giving descriptions."

"I can tell you what she looked like."

Array and the Undead looked at the Troll who spoke. "She wasn't very tall, roughly as tall as that short Edge Guard member, bright red hair, glowing green eyes, a rather large chest, that's all I can tell you."

Array blinked and nodded, "Oh Okay. I guess you're smarter than the average Troll, but here goes." Array concentrated and suddenly there was a redhead on the floor.

The Troll frowned a bit, "She was a bit shorter, her breasts were a little larger and her hair was brighter."

Array nodded and made the adjustments necessary, "There you go. I gave her green eyes since you said that the spirit's glowed green. I didn't give her a personality though."

The Troll nodded and picked her up, but he noticed something, "Um, there is no muscle structure to this girl."

Array rolled her eyes and gave the girls some finely toned muscles, "There? You happy? Now leave me alone!"

The Undead nodded and he and the Trolls left. Array shook her head, "I just know helping that Undead waste of space is a bad idea, but this way I can get him to quit bugging me."

 **by Red Priest of the 17th Order**

The morning sunlight started to shine through the windows of Sheila's room as the curtains were left un-drawn. The forms of the small jagwere and the large were smilodon were illuminated on the bed.

Sheila's eyes opened slowly as the light began to shine down upon her. He mumbled a little bit as consciousness came to her, and she got quite a sigh when she had awoken.

Silver.

Sheila was staring at silver.

With a shriek, Sheila literally fell off from her bed, landing with a thud. Breathing heavily to catch her breath, Sheila wondered why the heck there was silver in her room. She looked over the side of the bed to see what was in her bed. She gawked at the sight of the large black-furred werecat. And what was with those stripes!? What kind of were had silver stripes!?

Sheila was on the verge of freaking out a first, but thankfully, she then remembered yesterday, and how she met Ranma. And remembers what Nali said about his possible were SMILODON roots.

Sheila sighed. Those silver stripes were making her feel rather uncomfortable.

However, all of Sheila's movement had awoken Ranma. The were smilodon didn't realize that he'd changed forms again. He looked at the petite jagwere and mumbled, "Sheila?"

Looking at Ranma seriously, Sheila asked, "Ranma... How did you do that?"

Ranma blinked his eyes in confusion to Sheila's question. "Do what?"

Sheila sighed.

Scratching the back of his head in confusion, Ranma asked, "What?"

Looking at Ranma seriously, Sheila told the were smilodon, "Ranma... YOU'RE HUGE!"

Ranma blinked his eyes at hearing that and looked down at himself. "What the?" "Exactly!" Sheila said. "You're larger than a WERELION!"

Ranma just nodded his head. "I guess..." Ranma then realized something about earlier, what had initially woken him up. "How come you yelled and fell out of bed?"

Now, while this may sound like a dumb question, one should remember that Ranma doesn't know the FIRST thing about Werecreatures!

"You have SILVER stripes." Sheila explained. "I woke up and saw SILVER!"

Ranma had a blank look on his face from hearing Sheila's answer. "Um... What's the big deal about silver?"

Sheila just stared at the larger werecat, while Ranma scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. Sheila then explained, "Ranma, silver can KILL weres!"

Ranma's eyes widened in surprise. "It can?"

"Yes!" Sheila yelled out.

Ranma nodded his head. "Okay. I didn't know. Hell, I don't know ANYTHING about weres."

Sheila sighed. "It's okay but... Damn, you're huge!"

Ranma looks himself over again, and realized just how much larger he was than before. "Geeze! You're right!"

"You're bigger than Onoli now!" Sheila added.

Ranma nodded his head. "You know, I think I can understand why Nali was so scared of me," Ranma said as he started to stand up at the side of the bed, only to bang his head on the ceiling. "Ow!"

For a long while, as Sheila and Ranma stood there, there was only silence. Finally Ranma broke the quiet by asking, "You okay Sheila?"

Sheila nodded her head. "Yeah... Sorry. It's so odd seeing you like this. You're kind of intimidating..."

"I guess..." Ranma said with a sigh.

After another moment of two, Sheila tentatively moved over to Ranma and hugged him around the waist. Ranma raised an eyebrow at this. "Sheila?"

"Mmm... Your fur is still nice and silky," Sheila said with a purr. She tightened her hug around Ranma's waist. "Mmm... So much werecat..." Sheila then began to nuzzle her face into Ranma's abdomen.

Ranma just smiled a bit and hugged the petite Jagwere back. Ranma's smile widened at hearing her purr; he found it sexy.

As Sheila continued to nuzzle, she couldn't help but think, "I wonder how big his thingy is..."

Sheila let out a content sigh. She felt so small and vulnerable compared to Ranma, yet, she also felt completely and totally safe around him. "Purr... Such a big, strong werecat."

Ranma chuckles as Sheila smiled and nuzzled him more.

However, it was bound to happen, but Gar walks in to check on his sister before heading off to report in to work. "Hey Sheila, it's morning so you should... Wake... Up?" Gar trailed off as he looked up at the were that was a good two and a half feet taller than him, his jaw dropped to the floor. "T, that's a lot of silver..."

Sheila just purred and nuzzled Ranma's abdomen a bit more. "It's not real silver."

Ranma smiled a bit in embarrassment and waved his hand. "Hey Gar."

Gar blinked his eyes once, twice, thrice! "... Ranma?"

Ranma nodded his head and purred more as Sheila even licked Ranma's navel a little.

Gar was utterly shocked at seeing his sister do that. " ... SHEILA!?"

Sheila just continued to nuzzle Ranma's abdomen and lick his navel a bit.

Gar's eye twitched as he saw his sister licking this guy's belly-button... And enjoying herself while she was at it, too! Gar looked at Ranma, he shivered from seeing all that silver on him.

Purring, Sheila suggestively thrust her tongue back and forth in Ranma's navel. She then winked suggestively as she continued to thrust her tongue back and forth in Ranma's navel.

Growling a little at this spectacle, Gar grabbed his sister around the waist and pulled her off of Ranma, and then he threw her over his shoulder.

"HEY!" Sheila complained as Ranma just blinked his eyes in surprise.

Gar looked at his sister seriously. "Sheila, get ready. We have to report into work soon!"

At hearing that, Sheila pouted and Ranma frowned. Sheila then said, "But I don't want to..."

"Gar!" Ranma called out seriously. "She's injured."

Looking back at Ranma, Gar spoke quietly. "But she can still do desk work."

Folding his arms over his chest, Ranma stared at Gar. "She should rest until she gets better."

Leveling a glare at Ranma, Gar snorted. "I get the feeling she won't get any rest while you're around..." Turning his vision towards his sister, Gar then added, "Sheila, if you want you can sleep at your desk."

Sheila just continue to pout as Gar started dragging her off with him to work.

Ranma shook his head. "Fool. Sheila should be resting at bed."

 **by S.A.M.**

Sheila frowned as Gar was carrying her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Sure, she knew that he looked out for her and was protective, but this was over the top. "What the hell are you doing Gar?"

"I'm just trying to get you away from that playboy Werecat."

Sheila growled at her brother. "GARFIELD SILVEAR, PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!" Of course, Sheila leaned in and yelled into Gar's ear to scream that.

Gar winced but still made his way into town, he ignored the stares of the people around him as he answered his sister. "Don't worry Sheila, I'm not taking you to work, I'm taking you to Nali's clinic so that you can rest and get some sleep."

Sheila pouted. "I just wanted to spend the day at home."

Gar growled. "Not with that Werecat there."

Sheila sighed, she oh-so-wished that her brother would calm down and see reason, but that seemed less-and-less likely as the day went on.

Unknown to the two Jagweres, Ranma, still in his smilodon form was following them cloaked in the Umi-Sen-Ken's invisibility. Normally, this wouldn't help much, but there was a slight breeze that was blowing in Ranma's, and incidentally Gar and Sheila's faces. Even if the Jagwere's couldn't smell him, they could probably hear his footsteps or his heartbeat, but Ranma's stealth abilities were highly impressive and he was walking without a sound. The pigtailed Smilodon was using the Soul of Ice technique to keep his emotions in check, he wasn't very happy with the elder of the two Jagweres at the moment, this had the side effect of keeping his heartbeat from pounding to loudly.

 **by Philip Weigel**

Sheila sighed as she sat on the bed, her whole body was hurting right at that moment, what with the falling out of bed and Gar's carrying her roughly to Nali's clinic, she was in a bit of pain.

Normally she'd already be healed, but that damned attack from the Great Stooges Gang that had used magic had hurt her severely and slowed down her healing.

Yawning the petite Jagwere muttered to herself. "Why can't I just stay at home? It's not like I was going to do anything?"

"I don't know? Gar was acting like a jerk to me as well."

Sheila brightened a bit and looked around, she recognized that voice. "Ranma? Where are..." She blinked, she could hear his heartbeat right behind her. Turning around a bit, she looked, but didn't see anything.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Heh, sorry. I forgot how invisible this move makes a person." With that, Ranma phased back into view, smiling at her.

Sheila smiled and wrapped her arms around Ranma's neck, hugging him.

Ranma chuckled a little uneasily and hugged her back, albeit gently. He smiled a bit when he heard her purring. "Sheila, I wasn't kidding to Gar. You do need some rest."

"Purr, I know, but don't leave. I just want you to hold me."

Ranma smiled a bit at her and lay back, holding her to him. Running a hand through her hair, he had to wonder why Gar was acting like that. 'Oh well, worry about it later.'

Nali was standing just outside the room with a hand to her chest, trying to control her breathing. 'Damn! He HAD to find a way into his Smilodon form didn't he?'

Nali shook her head, as nervous as she was, she had to make sure that Sheila was okay. Picking up the blanket that she dropped, she walked into the room.

"R-R-Ranma?"

"Hmm?" The pigtailed Smilodon looked at her. "What Nali?" He completely forgot that he was in his Smilodon form and not in his mixed hybrid form.

"I g-got S-Sheila a b-bl-blanket so that she can cover herself u-up."

Ranma nodded. "Right. Just toss it over us okay?"

Nali nodded nervously and placed the blanket over them, as soon as she was done, she high-tailed it out of there.

Ranma frowned. "Why was she so scared?"

"You're in Smilodon form silly. Nali seems to be afraid of Were Smilodons for some reason."

Ranma blinked. "Oh, right. And you should be sleeping, you won't get better without rest."

"Who are you? My brother?" Seeing that Ranma wouldn't relent, Sheila sighed. "Very well then."

Cuddling up to Ranma, Sheila nuzzled her face against his chest and started to drift off to sleep.

Onoli looked up as Gar came in. "Say Gar? Have you seen Thropan? I needed to discuss some final things with him on today's assignments."

Gar shook his head. "Nope. Haven't seen him."

Onoli nodded. "Okay. So, how's your sister recovering?"

"I dropped her off at Nali's, she'll be fine."

Onoli raised an eyebrow. "Really? She's old enough to stay at home alone Gar, she doesn't need to be at Nali's; unless there's something you want to tell me?"

Gar shook his head. "Nothing important."

"Okay."

 **by The Demented Redhead**

Brianna sighed as she returned to her lab. Agency Zero had asked her father to go to Japan to investigate the incident, and the others were getting ready to go with them.

It wasn't that she didn't want to go; she felt she owed this new were-cheetah that at least. He had given his life to stop that Phoenix, and she wanted to at least pay her last respects.

As she opened the door to her lab, she was startled to hear her creations fighting amongst themselves.

"I wanna tell her!" yelled Peebrit.

"No, me!" yelled Peegi. "I'm the one who noticed it."

"Was not!" yelled Peebri.

"Noticed what?" asked Brianna, causing the three Peebos to run right up to her.

"The were-cheetah's alive!" they yelled out at once.

Brianna blinked. "What? And one at a time."

"Well," started Peegi, "I noticed that it plowed through one attack of fire like it was nothing. Even his clothes weren't signed."

Brianna nodded.

"And then I noticed that he held onto the Phoenix all the way into the canal," said Peebri. "He wasn't smoking or anything."

"So he couldn't have been burned up!" happily shouted Peebrit as she spun around in circles. "And if he wasn't burned up..."

"Then he has to be alive..." muttered Brianna. It made sense. If he could take a full force fire attack that had to be in the thousands of degrees if Dao was correct about those attacks, plus hold onto the thing to take it down into a canal, then there was no way boiling water would have killed it, or even vaporized it.

Part of her wanted to smack her own head into a wall for missing the obvious. Of course they weren't going to find a trace of him. After that, he would have bolted to make certain his friends and family were all right, or at the very least, hide to keep from being captured by someone like Pee-wee.

But a much larger part wanted to run straight to her father and Dao and confirm what she and her little ones had just deduced.

"Wow," said Peebrit, "Mommy's running fast. I'm going to chase her!" shouted the happy Peebo as it took off.

"Wait for us!" shouted the other two, taking off.

Herb sat on his throne, his wife currently off in her garden—she loved it so much, he'd never deny her time to spend with it, even with official business to tend to. "I must say that given the latest news, I'm quite surprised to see you here," he said.

"No more than me," muttered Kiima, her left arm in a sling, her head bandaged.

Herb nodded. A few hours ago, a party of Phoenix had descended onto his kingdom's doorstep. And with his father away dealing with the Amazons over a treaty, it fell onto him to deal with the Phoenix request. "I take it then you tried to stop ... his ... actions."

"We did," said a heavily bandaged elderly man beside Kiima, named Jol. "But Lord Saffron would not be denied."

"We lost thirteen warriors trying to contain him," said Guf.

Herb nodded. "Why stop him at all? I thought you all would enjoy the chance to see Saotome suffer."

"He was enraged," said Kiima. "He didn't care about secrecy, about keeping hidden from the landings, or the possible results of his quest. It would have been easy enough to get Saotome to come here," she continued, noticing Herb's demeanor didn't change. "But he was insane, slaying any of his own people he came across on his way out."

Herb nodded. "And how did he get so strong? Last I heard, Saotome had both the keys, and one of the taps was destroyed."

"We were able to restore the taps," said Guf. "They didn't need the keys."

"Maybe that in itself was the reason for his madness," muttered Jol.

"No," said Kiima, her heart hurting from what she was about to say. "He wanted this ever since he had grown to speak a few words, his revenge consumed his birth. I only hope we can stop him after he sates it."

Herb smiled a bit. "That won't be necessary," he added as Mint started up a television, a recent purchase his wife made that he was fast becoming attached too as well. "It seems that once again, your Lord bit off more than he could chew."

As the assembled Phoenix watched the video, Herb noted that a few were stuck in disbelieving shock, a few paled, and some like Kiima turned slightly, crying at the death of their Lord. They were loyal and caring, even as he went mad.

Such a rare trust in family, even if the betrayal was obvious.

"A ... about our request," said Kiima, her voice crackling as she struggled to stay in control over her emotions.

Herb nodded. "Your people may come into the Musk Kingdom as refugees. The lands in the south should fit your needs for the moment. I trust you will police your own people and keep ... incidents from happening? I rather enjoy the peace we've acquired these last few decades."

Kiima nodded. "Thank you."

Herb nodded. "I will dispatch workers and healers to accompany you both to the site and to help your people into the settlement.

"But hear me," said Herb, standing tall. "If Saotome comes here looking for answers, you will give them. Just pray he doesn't come seeking blood as well."

Those that had paled before paled even further as they turned in left. After they were gone, Mint turned to Herb. "Are you sure he's still alive?"

Herb chuckled a bit. "Oh, he's still quite living, I'm sure of that. If he could survive a direct fire blast as well as hold onto that flaming bird, then he's definitely alive. I've seen him get out of worse."

"Excuse me," said Lime. "But the Princess was wondering if her 'favorite assistant' could help her with her plants." That said, Lime held up a pink gardening suit.

"I just had to give her that idea, didn't I," muttered the Dragon Prince, as he used a glass of water to assume his cursed form. _Maybe this time we'll actually garden and she'll keep her hands to herself. She's a bigger pervert at times than my Guard._

 **by The Demented Redhead**

It had once been a proud dojo, planned to be built by the hands of Soun Tendo right after he and his new wife had been given the funds by their families to build it.

After two hours, real workers came by and with the direction of Kimiko Tendo, actually built the house and dojo while Soun dug in the yard. That hole eventually became a koi pond.

For over twenty years, it had been a home, a sanctuary, a memorial to a proud woman, and one of the few places where the style of Anything Goes had held any honor.

Now, it was one of the many scorch marks around the Nerima district.

The outer wall was cracked from heat exposure, reduced to rubble in others. The house was no longer standing, just a few stray pieces of burnt wood remained.

There had been no deaths, even though Kasumi had delayed her own departure to quickly grab her mother's urn. But despite that, all of them had survived.

But they were all that survived; the urn, the people, and the clothes on their backs.

The rest had gone up in an instant inferno that had spots on the ground already changed to glass.

Soun sat on his knees, continuing to face the charred lot, his eyes crying slow tears.

Kasumi stood beside him, trying to comfort her father.

Nabiki was already on her phone, trying to ensure what friends and associates she had hadn't died in the Phoenix God's attack.

Akane was almost as bad as her father, seeing her home destroyed by the same creature that had almost taken her life; it was a nightmare made real.

Putting away her phone, Nabiki sighed. There had been three people whom she hadn't been able to make contact with. Either they were dead, or their own searches were preventing her from making contact.

"Don't worry, Father," said Kasumi, rubbing the elder Tendo's back. "Everything will be fine, you'll see."

Shaking her head at her older sister's eternal optimism, she opened the phone for one last call, hoping that the lines weren't tied up already.

Besides, if he was still alive, it would be the one place he would head to, if for nothing else than to say goodbye.

Plus, it was the only probably place they had left where they might find a place to stay until this new mess was cleaned up.

She looked at the number and dialed Nodoka Saotome.

Hearing Nali scuttle near the door, Ranma sighed, as he tried to shift slowly to his full were-cheetah form. It seemed anything that looked near a were smilodon frightened her for some reason.

He had a good guess. After all, before his ... shift ... during the fight against Saffron, he had had a fear about cats, even though logically he knew they couldn't harm him.

Fears like that tended to stay with you, no matter how silly you knew they were.

"You can come in, I'm full cheetah now," said Ranma quietly, trying not to disturb Sheila anymore than what his shift had done.

Nali peeked through the small opening of the door, releasing a sigh of relief that even Ranma heard. "I need to check her wounds."

Ranma nodded, preparing to wake her up, before stopping. Turning to Nali, he simply said one sentence. "I know."

"Know?" she asked, a bit of fear in her voice.

"I know the fear," he said. "You know I'm nothing like the ones that made you afraid, but the fear ... it's just too strong to ignore."

Nali tried not to shake at his words. "How...?"

"We all have fears," said Ranma, rubbing Sheila's neck, and sending the tiny werejaguar into a slight purr. "The trick is not to let them win."

Turning to face her again, he held out his hand. "I'll help. I'm Ranma Saotome, a were-cheetah and a were smilodon. Wanna be friends?"

 **by Nysk**

Nali's eyes darted quickly from Ranma's outstretched hand and then back to his eyes, recalling what Sheila had said about him, about how kind he had been to her and that he was a nice guy. Figuring she would give him a chance, after all he had already made a gesture of friendship towards her by not being in his were-smilodon form Nali firmly took his hand in hers, "Nali, and I'd like very much to be your friend Ranma."

Ranma smiled in response.

"Now, why don't we get to know each other a bit while I look over my patient." Nali took a step away, a teasing smile on her lips. That is if you could pry her away from you for a moment so I can check her bandages that is."

His cheeks reddening slightly Ranma slowly slipped off the bed managing to free himself of Sheila's grasping hands but only with Nali's help.

"R..Ranma…" A groggily Sheila opened her eyes slightly seeking him out. She relaxed a bit when she felt Ranma take her hand.

"Right here Sheila. I'm not goin' nowhere. Nali just' needed to take a look at ya is all."

Turning her head slowly Sheila noted Nali's presence for the first time, "Oh. Hi Nali." – yawn– "Ranma can stay right?"

"Of course he can stay Sheila." The heeler answered, her voice taking on the typical friendliness she used when tending to a patient. "Now just sit still while I check your bandages ok?"

Sheila nodded and closed her eyes again, "Sooo tired."

"Is that normal?" Ranma asked in a low whisper, not that it mattered as anything said that Nali could hear Sheila would easily make out with her superior hearing.

"Yes Ranma it is. Her wounds were caused by magic and the regenerative abilities of a werecat don't heal such wounds as they do most others. That and the ointment on the bandages tend to make her a bit sleepy to help her body relax in addition to helping to hear such wounds more efficiently." Nali said as she removed a few bandages that had gotten dirty since yesterday, her hands moving deftly to replace them. Despite her gentle touch Sheila moaned a few times in pain. "Sadly I can do nothing for her pain as mixing the alchemical compounds contained within the bandages with an anesthetic could produce a dangerous catatonic state."

Nodding in understanding as he was familiar with such things from not only his father's ministrations when he was younger as well as some of his more recent experiences in tending to his own wounds since Dr. Tofu had moved his practice from Nerima. He had in fact taken up learning more about shiatsu techniques to deaden his pain or speed up his own recovery as a result learning much from various books and scrolls he'd managed to gather without anyone except Nabiki noticing – he simply paid her off to keep her silent.

"Um Nali? Can I try something?"

Looking at him quizzically Nali spoke, "And what would that be Ranma?"

"I um… I get into a lot of fights and I often have to drag myself to this doctor I know who used to live close by to where I was staying. I learned a few ways to lessen the pain of wounds through use of shiatsu and acupressure. I'd like to see if I can help her but I didn't want to do so without your permission as her physician."

Nali was familiar with acupressure and shiatsu massages but didn't think that either would do much good for Sheila and was about to say so when she saw how Ranma reacted to another painful groan the wounded were-jaguar let out as she shifted slightly in her semiconscious state. "Ok Ranma, if you'd like to give it a try I am willing to ok it. But! I would like to observe your treatment and if at any point I feel you need to stop you must promise me to do so. Agreed?"

Sighing in relief at being able to possibly help his new friend with her pain Ranma eagerly nodded, "Anything you say doc!"


End file.
